Antagonistic assessment of lactic acid bacteria against urinary tract pathogens

Urinary tract Infections (UTIs), is a common and significant global health issue which can lead to increased morbidity and healthcare cost. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been known for their ability to inhibit microbial pathogens. However, there is a growing concern of antibiotic resistance in bacteria strains of food origin and its possible transmission through functional foods. In this study, antagonistic activities of LAB from Ogi (a fermented cereal gruel) and Kunu (a non-alcoholic fermented beverage) were demonstrated against clinical uropathogens. Potential probiotic LAB were also screened for their phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles. LAB isolates were isolated and characterized. The antagonistic effect of the LAB isolates against the pathogens was determined by the agar well diffusion technique. The LAB isolates were examined for antimicrobial susceptibility with commercially available antibiotic discs, using the agar disc diffusion method. In total, 32 LAB isolates were isolated from the ogi and kunu samples. Using the agar well diffusion assay, a highest zone of inhibition of 12mm was exhibited by three respective LAB isolates from ogi samples against a Klebsiella spp. compared to a highest inhibitory zone of 9mm by a LAB isolate from kunu sample against an E. coli isolate. Twelve different antibiotic resistant phenotypes were expressed by the isolates of LAB examined. Our study shows LAB isolates to possess in vitro antimicrobial properties and the importance of identifying the presence of antibiotic resistant isolates in fermented foods to avoid the microbiological hazards link with horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.