RESUMEN
In the present study, a bacterium isolated from Marcha- a herbal cake used as traditional starter culture to ferment local wine in North East India, was evaluated for bacteriocin like inhibitory substance production and was tested against six food borne/spoilage causing pathogens viz. Listeria monocytogenes MTCC 839, Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121, Clostridium perfringens MTCC 450, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides MTCC 107 by using bit/disc method followed by well diffusion method. The bacterial isolate was identified as Brevibacillus borstelensis on the basis of phenotypic, biochemical and molecular characteristics using 16Sr RNA gene technique. Bacteriocin like inhibitory substance produced by Brevibacillus borstelensis AG1 was purified by gel exclusion chromatography. The molecular mass of the Brevibacillus borstelensis AG1 was found to be 12 kDa. Purified bacteriocin like inhibitory substance of Brevibacillus borstelensis was further characterized by studying the effect of temperature, pH, proteolytic enzyme and stability. Bacteriocin like inhibitory substance was found to be thermostable upto 100 °C, active at neutral pH, sensitive to trypsin, and partially stable till third week of storage thus showing a bright prospective to be used as a potential food biopreservative.