Boza, a natural source of probiotic lactic acid bacteria

J Appl Microbiol. 2007 Oct 8; [Epub ahead of print]

Boza, a natural source of probiotic lactic acid bacteria.

Todorov SD, Botes M, Guigas C, Schillinger U, Wiid I, Wachsman MB, Holzapfel WH, Dicks LM. Department of Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Aims: To evaluate the probiotic properties of strains isolated from boza, a traditional beverage produced from cereals.

Methods and Results: The strains survived low pH conditions (pH 3.0), grew well at pH 9.0 and were not inhibited by the presence of 0.3% (w/v) oxbile. Cytotoxicity levels of the bacteriocins, expressed as CC(50), ranged from 38 to 3776 mug ml(-1). Bacteriocin bacST284BZ revealed high activity (EC(50) = 735 mug ml(-1)) against herpes simplex virus type 1. Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was 69% repressed after 5 days in the presence of bacST194BZ. Various levels of auto-cell aggregation and co-aggregation with Listeria innocua LMG 13568 were observed. Adhesion of the probiotic strains to HT-29 cells ranged from 18 to 22%.

Conclusions: Boza is a rich source of probiotic lactic acid bacteria. All strains survived conditions simulating the gastrointestinal tract and produced bacteriocins active against a number of pathogens. Adherence to HT-29 and Caco-2 cells was within the range reported for Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, a well-known probiotic. In addition, the high hydrophobicity readings recorded define the strains as good probiotics. Significance and Impact of the Study: Boza contains a number of different probiotic lactic acid bacteria and could be marketed as a functional food product.

PMID: 17922827 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]