Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms which when consumed provide health benefits to the consumer. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize lactic acid bacteria with probiotic potentials from fresh palm wine, fermented cabbage, ogi and tiger nuts collected from different locations in Port Harcourt. The samples were screened for the presence of lactic acid bacteria using standard microbiological techniques including genotypic techniques.  A total of five presumptive lactic acid bacteria were identified. Two lactic acid bacterial isolates were obtained from palm wine, one each from cabbage, ogi and tiger nuts respectively. These isolates were further subjected to test for their probiotic potentials including tolerance to pH 2.0 and pH3.0, bile salts (0.3%, 1.0% and 2.0%), and antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of the five isolates, 100%, 40% and 20% had over 80% survival rate when exposed to 0.3%, 1.0% and 2.0% bile salt respectively. All the isolates had over 80% survival rate in acidic conditions. The lactic acid bacterial isolates variedly inhibited 1 – 4 bacterial isolates. However, Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited by all the lactic acid bacterial isolates. The result of this study demonstrates the presence of probiotic lactic acid bacteria in palm wine, fermented cabbage, ogi and tiger nuts, which can be harnessed for the health benefits they provide.