Selection of Potential Probiotic Lactobacillus with Inhibitory Activity Against Salmonella and Fecal Coliform Bacteria.

Three hundred and sixty presumptive lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from pregnant sows, newborn, suckling, and weaned piglets were preliminarily screened for anti-Salmonella activity. Fifty-eight isolates consisting of Lactobacillus reuteri (n = 32), Lactobacillus salivarius (n = 10), Lactobacillus mucosae (n = 8), Lactobacillus johnsonii (n = 5), and Lactobacillus crispatus (n = 3) were selected and further characterized for probiotic properties including production of antimicrobial substances, acid and bile tolerance, and cell adherence to Caco-2 cells. Eight isolates including Lact. johnsonii LJ202 and Lact. reuteri LR108 were identified as potential probiotics. LJ202 was selected for further use in co-culture studies of two-bacterial and multiple-bacterial species to examine its inhibitory activity against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis DMST7106 (SE7106). Co-culture of LJ202 and SE7106 showed that LJ202 could completely inhibit the growth of SE7106 in 10 h of co-culture. In co-culture of multiple-bacterial species, culturable fecal bacteria from pig feces were used as representative of multiple-bacterial species. The study was performed to examine whether interactions among multiple-bacterial species would influence antagonistic activity of LJ202 against SE7106 and fecal coliform bacteria. Co-culture of SE7106 with different combinations of fecal bacteria and probiotic (LJ202 and LR108) or non-probiotic (Lact. mucosae LM303) strains revealed that the growth of SE7106 was completely inhibited either in the presence or in the absence of probiotic strains. Intriguingly, LJ202 exhibited notable inhibitory activity against fecal coliform bacteria while LR108 did not. Taken together, the results of co-culture studies suggested that LJ202 is a good probiotic candidate for further study its inhibitory effects against pathogen infections in pigs.