Caracterização de Bacillus clausii para uso como probiótico

Abstract

A food can be considered functional if it has constructive effects on the target functions of the human organism. Among the various foods with claims of functional and/or health properties are probiotics. Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. The use of probiotic bacteria such as Bacillus spp., has increased due to the ability to form spores resulting in greater resistance during the production, storage and marketing processes, this characteristic gives them a double advantage in terms of survival (heat tolerance and greater shelf life) in different environments compared to other probiotics such as Lactobacillus spp. Bacillus clausii has been on the market for over 55 years and is characterized by the presence of four probiotic strains (O/C, SIN, N/R and T). In this study, Bacillus clausii, from Sanofi's commercial product Enterogermina®, was obtained from Pharmacies and Drugstores in the city of Dourados-MS. To characterize Bacillus clausii for use as a probiotic, the following analyzes and tests were performed: acid pH analysis 2 and 3, tolerance test and 0.3% bile salt hydrolysis, pepsin and pancreatin tolerance test, adhesion test, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production, hemolysis activity, antioxidant activity and β-galactosidase activity. In the analysis of tolerance to acid pH, bile salts, pepsin and pancreatin, there were no significant differences when compared to the log of CFU/mL-1 of initial cells. It showed bile salt hydrolysis and γ-hemolytic activity on blood agar. It was able to eliminate 27% of DPPH, 67% of adhesion to stainless steel sheet and production of 67mg/L of EPS, in addition to hydrolyzing o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranose (ONPG). Thus indicating great probiotic potential.