Physiological characteristics and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of Lactobacillus plantarum M23 isolated from raw milk

In order to develop a new starter for fermented milk, Lactobacillus plantarum M23 was isolated from raw milk and investigated for physiological characteristics. It showed good tyrosinase inhibitory activity compared with commercial lactic acid bacteria. The optimum growth temperature of Lactobacillus plantarum M23 was 40 degrees C and Cultures took 17 hr to reach pH 4.3. Lactobacillus plantarum M23 showed more sensitivity to Penicillin-G, Oxacillin, Novobiocin, Chloramphenicol in a comparison of 12 different antibiotics, and showed most resistance to Vancomycin. It showed higher leucine arylamidase and P-galactosidase activities compared to 16 other enzymes. It was comparatively tolerant to bile juice and able to survive at pH 2 for 3 hours. It showed high resistance to Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus with rates of 77.8%, 86.5% and 83.8%, respectively. Based on these and previous results, Lactobacillus plantarum M23 Could be an excellent starter Culture for fermented milk with high resistance to melanin.