Isolation and characterization of probiotics from sweet toddy and evaluation of their potential pharmaceutical applications

The increasing demand for natural and functional foods has accelerated research in the field of probiotics, with a focus on indigenous sources of beneficial microorganisms. This study investigates the isolates that contain probiotic characteristics from Sweet Toddy. The seven isolates were evaluated for key probiotic qualities, such as resistance to bile salts, simulated gastric juice, NaCl, and low pH environments. Based on these studies, two isolates were selected for further characterisation of autoaggregation, antibacterial activity, antibiotic susceptibility, and haemolytic activity. The results showed that both isolates had high tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal diseases as well as antibacterial properties and were susceptible to several antibiotics. Importantly, both strains showed γ-haemolytic activity, confirming their safety profile. Molecular identification confirmed the isolates as <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> (PP724383) and <i>Bacillus hyanesii</i> (PP762189). The results suggest that these strains have great potential as probiotics with applications in functional food development and the pharmaceutical industry.