Antifungal Activity of Lactic Acid Cocci Isolated from Camel Milk

Nafissa Sahel; Hamani Zineb; Cheriguene Abderrahim; Chougrani Fadela

Abstract

This study examines the antifungal activity of lactic acid cocci isolated from camel milk against mold growth. After the isolation, purification, and characterization of lactic acid cocci, the screening of strains with antifungal activity was done by overlay and confrontation methods against Aspergillus fumigatus. These strains show strong activity. Antifungals were selected to study their inhibitory effect on liquid medium, evaluate their antifungal spectrum, and study the effect of their cell-free supernatants on fungal growth. The results obtained by the study of morphological and biochemical characteristics made it possible to retain 68 strains belonging to the genera Enterococcus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Streptococcus, and Lactococcus with the following percentages: 38.46%, 25%, 11.53%, 17.30%, and 7.69% respectively. 34.61% of isolates belonging to the genera Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, and Lactococcus showed their strong capacity to inhibit the mycelial growth and the germination of conidia of the species Aspergillus fumigatus on solid medium as wellas on liquid medium in addition to that their cell-free supernatants exhibited inhibitory activity varying between 2mm and 9mm. The results show that among the selected strains, the isolates Leuconostoc mesenteroides CO52, Pediococcus pentosaceus CO8, Pediococcus pentosaceus CO28 can inhibit the growth of a broad spectrum of molds. Strains that show a strong antifungal efficacy can be introduced as a means of biological control against food spoil molds

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