Characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Italian Bella di Cerignola table olives: selection of potential multifunctional starter cultures

Lactic acid bacteria (19 isolates) from Bella di Cerignola Italian table olives were investigated for their technological and probiotic properties for the selection of multifunctional starter cultures for table olives. The bacteria were first identified by phenotyping and genotyping, then characterized for the production of biogenic amines, growth at different pH, NaCl concentrations, and temperatures. The potentiality of the bacteria to have some probiotic properties (antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, survival in low pH and in the presence of bile salts, ability to adhere to the mammalian cells model IPEC-J2) was also investigated. Eighteen of the studied isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum and one as Enterococcus faecalis. All bacteria were able to grow at a range of pH between 4.0 and 10.0 as well as in media supplemented with 2.5 to 7.5% of NaCl and 0.3% bile salts and survived in MRS broth acidified at pH 2.5; moreover, they inhibited significantly Escherichia coli O157:H7. The adhesion to IPEC-J2 cells was in general low to moderate (5.3 to 8.3%); however, 2 isolates of L. plantarum (c16 and c19) showed interesting higher adhesion values (up to 16%). Our results suggest that at least 3 isolates could be possible multifunctional starters for Bella di Cerignola olives: L. plantarum 16 and 19 for mainly their probiotic properties and L. plantarum 10 for mainly its technological characteristics. Practical Application: A functional starter is a microorganism exerting benefits on human health (probiotic) and able to guide a fermentation (starter). The main goal of this article was to select a functional starter for table olives.