Assessment of probiotic properties in lactic acid bacteria isolated from wine

Probiotic properties are highly strain-dependent but rarely studied in enological lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this study, the probiotic features of 11 strains of Lactobacillus spp., Pediococcus spp., and Oenococcus oeni, including saliva and acid resistance, bile tolerance and exopolysaccharides' production, were investigated. The assays included two probiotic reference strains (Lactobacillus plantarum CLC 17 and Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716). The Lactobacillus and Pediococcus strains showed high resistance to lysozyme (>80% resistance to 100 mg/L of lysozyme under conditions simulating the in vivo dilution by saliva) and were capable of surviving at low pH values (pH 1.8) and bile salts, suggesting good adaptation of the wine strains to gastrointestinal conditions. The ability of the strains to adhere to the intestinal mucosa and the inhibition of the adhesion of Escherichia coli to human intestinal cells were also evaluated. Adhesion levels of enological LAB to Caco-2 cells varied from 0.37% to 12.2%, depending on the strain. In particular, Pediococcus pentosaceus CIAL-86 showed a high percentage of adhesion to intestinal cells (>12%), even higher than that shown by the probiotic reference strains, and a high anti-adhesion activity against E. coli CIAL-153 (>30%), all of which support this wine LAB strain as a potential probiotic.