Identification and characterisation of lactobacilli isolated from Kimere, a spontaneously fermented pearl millet dough from Mbeere, Kenya (East Africa)

The objective of the study was to isolate potential probiotic lactobacilli from Kimere, a pearl millet dough prepared in the Mbeere community of Kenya, East Africa, by fermentation for 18-24 hours. Kimere samples, collected from 11 different homesteads in Mbeere, showed average pH values of 3.63+/-0.29. Counts of presumptive lactobacilli were 8.52+/-0.02 log(10) colony forming units per gram, respectively. 48 presumptive Lactobacillus isolates were characterised and identified by biochemical and molecular methods. Lactobacillus fermentum (46 isolates) was the dominant Lactobacillus species detected. Analysis of strain diversity with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis indicated relatively large biodiversity among L. fermentum isolates. All L. fermentum isolates were able to grow in MRS medium containing 0.3% ox gall. Twelve of them were able to grow in the presence of 3% ox gall, and of these 60% survived incubation at pH 3 in the presence of 2 mg pepsin per ml for three hours.