"Masato de Yuca" and "Chicha de Siete Semillas" Two Traditional Vegetable Fermented Beverages from Peru as Source for the Isolation of Potential Probiotic Bacteria

In this work, two Peruvian beverages "Masato de Yuca," typical of the Amazonian communities made from cassava (Manihot esculenta), and "Chicha de Siete Semillas," made from different cereal, pseudo-cereal, and legume flours, were explored for the isolation of lactic acid bacteria after obtaining the permission of local authorities following Nagoya protocol. From an initial number of 33 isolates, 16 strains with different RAPD- and REP-PCR genetic profiles were obtained. In Chicha, all strains were Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (formerly Lactobacillus plantarum), whereas in Masato, in addition to this species, Limosilactobacillus fermentum (formerly Lactobacillus fermentum), Pediococcus acidilactici, and Weissella confusa were also identified. Correlation analysis carried out with their carbohydrate fermentation patterns and enzymatic profiles allowed a clustering of the lactobacilli separated from the other genera. Finally, the 16 strains were submitted to a static in vitro digestion (INFOGEST model) that simulated the gastrointestinal transit. Besides, their ability to adhere to the human epithelial intestinal cell line HT29 was also determined. Following both procedures, the best probiotic candidate was Lac. plantarum Ch13, a robust strain able to better face the challenging conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and showing higher adhesion ability to the intestinal epithelium in comparison with the commercial probiotic strain 299v. In order to characterize its benefit for human health, this Ch13 strain will be deeply studied in further works.