Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXV, Issue 1
Written by Daniel RIZEA, Mihaela DUMITRU, Mihaela HABEANU, Georgeta CIURESCU, Silviu Ionut BEIA, Horia GROSU
Probiotics are important bacteria species due to their benefits to animal health. This study aimed to evaluate some characteristics of Enterococcus faecium (NCIMB 10415) and evaluated its survivability and capacity as a probiotic product. Gram-positive, catalase, antibiotics and haemolysis tests were screened using selective media. The strain was phenotypically characterized and biochemical profile using API 20STREP and identification by apiwebTM (Biomerieux (France) software were done (99.2% very good identification). After 24 h of incubation at 37°C, in aerobic conditions, E. faecium exhibits 11.88 Log10 with an optical density (OD 600 nm) yield reaching a maximum from 0.2 at the beginning of the exponential growth phase to 1.7 value. The safety of the strain was confirmed by non-haemolytic activity on TSA agar medium. The impact of 16 antibiotics on our strain ranged from intermediate (75%) to susceptible (12.5%), with resistance to colistin sulphate and erythromycin. Regarding the importance of antibiotics such as vancomycin, the analysis of the E. faecium profile revealed intermediate activity. These data suggested that these bacteria do not create a risk to animal health and may be considered a reliable candidate as probiotic source for application in poultry nutrition.
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