Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic potential of 35 strains of Lactobacillus spp. isolated from dahi a traditional fermented milk product. In order to select the candidate probiotic strains Lactobacillus spp. isolated belonged to the L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, L. casei and L. helveticus were examined for antimicrobial activity against selected pathogens, acid and bile tolerance and antibiotic susceptibility. It was observed that L. acidophilus LA 02 produced antimicrobial activities against the test strains and tolerated pH 2 and 3 and survived the bile salt concentration of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 %. It was resistant to vancomycin, erythromycin and chloramphenicol. This is the first report describing the probiotic properties of dairy isolates of Lactobacillus spp. in Pakistan.
