Isolation And Characterization Of Probiotic Bacteria From Fermented Foods

The present paper provides a thorough analysis of the methodologies and results associated with the isolation and characterization of probiotic bacteria from traditionally fermented foods. This research, through the thorough analysis of recent studies from 2021 to 2026, investigates the screening, identification, and characterization of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from various fermented food products, such as cereals, palm nectar, and non-dairy Indian fermented foods. This study proposes a novel framework for the characterization of probiotic bacteria, known as the Multi-Phase Probiotic Characterization Framework (MPPCF), by employing traditional culture-dependent methodologies and molecular characterization. Analysis of the results indicates that fermented foods contain various LAB species, i.e., Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis, Latilactobacillus curvatus, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides, exhibiting strong probiotic potential. The key functional attributes include acid tolerance (survivability of 17-21% at pH 2), bile resistance (28-35% survivability at 0.3% bile salts), antibacterial activity against human pathogens such as P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, and antioxidant activity with scavenging ability higher than 80% for DPPH. The comparative evaluation of the five dimensions of analysis—source diversity, identification techniques, probiotic standards, functional attributes, and safety assessment—establishes the fact that traditional fermented foods are an underutilized reservoir of new probiotic microorganisms with great promise in the development of functional foods and therapeutic formulations.