Assessing the growth of probiotic bacteria in selected prebiotic foods rich in oligosaccharides.

ABSTRACT

The combination of both probiotic and prebiotic has the ability to heal and regulate the intestinal flora, particularly after the destruction of microorganisms following antibiotic, chemotherapy, or radiation therapies. Without the beneficial organism digestion, absorption, and manufacture of nutrients cannot take place. Probiotic bacteria were isolated from commercially available yoghurt and probiotic milk products. Lactobacillus spp. were isolated using MRS agar and incubated under anaerobic condition at 37°C for 24 hrs. MRS agar was used for the enumeration and isolation of probiotic bacteria. Both were incubated under anaerobic condition at 37°C for 24 hrs. Morphological, physiological and biochemical reactions were used to characterize the isolates. The isolated bacteria were grown in prebiotic foods such as wheat, oat and barley at varying temperature. The viability of Lactobacillus spp. in prebiotic foods under acidic condition was checked. The growth of Lactobacillus spp. were assessed in three different prebiotic foods and among the three different prebiotic foods barley served as best substrate for the growth of Lactobacillus spp.