Quality and Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria Diversity of Rabbit Meat Bekasam-Fermented Meat

Rabbit meat bekasam is a traditional fermentation product from Indonesia. This study aimed to determine the chemical and microbiological characteristics of rabbit meat bekasam during the fermentation process in order to isolate, characterize (in vitro and in vivo), and identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as the probiotic candidate. The chemical contents of bekasam on 7-day fermentation were investigated in explorative and experimental methods in a completely randomized design. A proximate analysis reported a decrease in the moisture content, fat and carbohydrate content, and an increase in protein content. Also, lactic acid content was increased from 0.48% to 1.12%, and pH was decreased from 5.3 to 4.3. Other properties indicated different values, such as bacteria (2.75×10(6) to 4.45×10(7) CFU/g), total LAB (3.82×10(6) to 4.67×10(8) CFU/g), total yeast (9.89×10(6) to 3.82×10(8) CFU/g) and total mould (4.34×10(1) to 4.86×10(3) CFU/g). The experiment produced nine LAB isolates, including two probiotics subjected to further 16S rRNA gene analysis, which indicated that Lactobacillus buchneri was the potential probiotic isolate. After being tested on BALB/c mice, L. buchneri could improve the immune system by inhibiting the growth of Coliform and Salmonella.