Abstract
The study aimed to screen for the possible presence of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in cat milk in order to evaluate their probiotic properties. The isolates were characterized by biochemical identification, morphological tests and 16S rDNA sequencing. Afterward, gastrointestinal passage, in vitro safety and probiotic properties were evaluated. The results showed that the isolates had 10 strains of Pediococcus acidilactici permitted in the feed additive catalog. The high survival rate in the acid and bile salt resistance test reflected the good strain tolerance of the isolates to the simulated gastrointestinal conditions of the host in vitro. The mean inhibitory diameters of the 10 strains against chloramphenicol and tetracycline were 23.6 mm and 17.4 mm, respectively; none of the hemolytic tests showed α/β hemolytic ring. The bacteriostatic test showed that P. acidilactici YH-9, YH-14 and YH-15 had inhibitory effects on four common pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus. The adhesion test showed that P. acidilactici YH-15 had good adhesion to HT-29 cells. Based on these results, we concluded that P. acidilactici YH-15 extracted from cat milk has potential application as a clinical probiotic therapy and health care product.