Antagonistic activity of probiotic lactobacilli against human enteropathogenic bacteria in homemade tvorog curd cheese from Azerbaijan

[Image: see text] Introduction: Human health is deemed to be maintained by the crosstalk among the body and probiotic bacteria. Disruptions in this composition are associated with the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Through modernization, traditional foods consumption has been abandoned and native food starters have been substituted with industrial products. Hence, we aimed to isolate and evaluate probiotic bacteria from traditional fermented foods which can be used as probiotics as well as starter cultures in food industry and in medicine against antibiotic resistant pathogenes. To this end, an intact village was recognized in the Republic of Azerbaijan with traditional dairy products, yielding a variety of potential probiotics. Methods: In this study, tvorog as a traditional dairy product from Dashkasan, Ismailli and khachmaz regions in Azerbaijan was characterized for the isolation of Lactobacilli with probiotic potentiality. The bacteria were tested for the resistance to the acid, bile, and the antagonistic effect of human pathogenic bacteria. The isolates were identified by 16s rDNA sequencing with a blast to the databank. Results: Three species with higher homology to the L. planetarium, L. rhamnosus, and L. casei with high probiotic potentiality and antibacterial effects were isolated. Conclusion: Homemade tvorog curd cheese in Azerbaijan harbor a variety of probiotics with industrial applications as well as potentiality to be preserved in a biobank for the future medicinal applications especially against antibiotic resistant pathogenes.