Identification of lactic acid bacteria in bee bread and bee pollen samples collected from different regions of Turkiye and comparison of their probiotic properties

Consumers are increasingly interested in functional foods containing probiotics. Bee products, widely produced in T & uuml;rkiye due to favorable conditions, are important in natural nutrition. In this study, the diversity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and potential probiotic properties in bee bread and bee pollen samples collected from different regions of T & uuml;rkiye were investigated. After the phenotypic and genotypic identification of LAB, their technological functions and their functionality in the gastrointestinal system were determined. Strains isolated from bee bread and pollen in Turkey, exhibiting a total of 37 different (GTG)5 profiles, were clustered into 8 different LAB species as Apilactobacillus kunkeei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Lactococcus lactis, Weissella cibaria, Weissella confusa, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Enterococcus faecium by 16S rRNA sequencing. While the salt and temperature tolerance abilities of LAB isolates gave similar results for the same species from different regions, Lpb. plantarum, L. lactis M3, M5 and W. confusa S6 strains that could grow at 8% salt concentration and 45 degrees C temperature were remarkable. It was observed that there were significant differences between the isolates of the same type of LAB strains from different provinces in low pH, bile salt resistance, auto-aggregation, and antibiotic susceptibility properties (p<0.05). However, according to the antimicrobial analysis results, it was determined that the antagonism degrees of LAB strains varied from strain to strain, independent of the isolation origin. The strongest antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens belonged to Lpb. plantarum strains.