Safety and potential beneficial properties of Enterococcus strains isolated from kefir

CARASI P; JACQUOT C; ROMANIN D; ELIE AM; DE ANTONI GL; URDACI MC; SERRADELL MA

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY JOURNAL

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014

0958-6946

Kefir is a fermented milk containing microorganisms showing several health beneficial properties. In the present work the safety aspects and beneficial properties of kefir-isolated Enterococcus strains were investigated for the first time. Enterococcus strains were identified as E. durans using phenotypical and molecular characterization methods. Neither resistance to clinically important antibiotics, nor genes encoding for eight different virulence factors were found. Interestingly, selected E. durans strains were able to inhibit different Gram(+) and Gram(-) pathogens. These strains were able to survive to simulated gastrointestinal conditions and showed a similar power of adhesion to mucins. Noteworthy, E. durans strains possessed anti-inflammatory properties as demonstrated by a significant inhibition of flagellin-induced response on Caco-2 cells. Our results indicate that the presence of E. durans in kefir does not represent a threat to consumers´ health, and proves their potential functionality and great potential as probiotics.