Lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from Kombucha with potential probiotic effect

Kombucha is an oriental traditional beverage made usually of sweetened tea fermented by a symbiotic consortium of bacteria and yeast embedded within a cellulose membrane. The beverage has been characterized for health benefits related mainly to the tea itself but very few in relation to the microbial consortia. The objective of our work was to isolate lactic acid bacteria from a local kombucha source and characterize the strains for their probiotic potential. Five lactic acid bacteria have been isolated, characterized morphologically and by molecular tools; the results proved their belonging to the lactobacilli/lactococci group. Sequencing results lead to the conclusion that they all have 99% identity with strains of Pediococcus pentosaceus. The on plate screening for bacteriocin production have been expressed on synthetic media only for three of the total five isolates. To complete the probiotic protential profiles of the isolates, they have been tested for their resistance to bile salts; only one isolate finally proved to have clear probiotic potential.