Functional efficacy of Enterococcus faecium HN4 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii HN5 strains isolated from human milk.

AIMS: The microbiota of human milk is described at length; however, variation in different bacterial genera in milk has been reported. Here, breast milk samples from Indian mothers were used to target bacterial species from the pool of microbial communities in human milk with probiotic potential. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A culture-dependent technique was used to isolate bacterial cultures, and their physiological and functional properties were appraised. RESULTS: Two bacterial cultures, E. faecium HN4 and L delbrueckii HN5, were identified as showing considerable tolerance to acid and bile conditions with 73.0-87.0% survival. The cultures showed other in vitro beneficial properties. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the presence of potential probiotics in human milk that could be investigated for further use.