Scope: Probiotic-derived antimicrobial substances offer a promising treatment approach with less resistance risk. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of 20 Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains of human gut origin and their derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) against the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 and Propionibacterium acnes MTCC 1950.
Methods and results: The cell-free supernatants (CFSs) of all Lactobacillus isolates were initially screened for antimicrobial potential against the selected pathogens. The CFSs of selected isolates were further concentrated and were subjected to SDS PAGE, with bands excised for analysis of antimicrobial activity. Additionally, EVs were isolated and characterized from LpJ5 and LpJ15 and evaluated their antimicrobial activity. Results indicated that out of 20 isolates, the CFS (pH 6.5) of both the isolates demonstrated the highest zones of inhibition against S. aureus (22.9 ± 1.00 mm) and P. acnes (15.66 ± 1.52 mm), respectively. The EVs derived from LpJ5 and LpJ15 showed inhibition zones of 18.5 ± 0.2 mm and 20 ± 0.3 mm against S. aureus and P. acnes.
Conclusion: Findings from this study highlight that the EVs isolated from CFS of two potent isolates LpJ5 and LpJ15, exhibit substantial antimicrobial activity, and suggest their potential application as biotherapeutic agents against selected pathogens.
Keywords: antimicrobial activity; extracellular vesicles; pathogens; postbiotics; probiotics.
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