Aim: To identify enterococci from the fermentation of milk for the production of nono, an African fermented dairy product, to determine the technological properties for suitability as starter cultures and safety as probiotics. Methods and Results: Enterococcus faecium CM4 and Enterococcus faecium 2CM1 were isolated from raw cow's milk. The strains were phenotypically and genotypically identified. Technological properties, safety investigations, in vitro adherence properties and antimicrobial characteristics were carried out. Strong acidification and tolerance to bile salts were recorded. The strains were bile salts hydrolytic positive and no haemolysis. There was no resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics. The strains exhibited adherence to human collagen type IV, human fibrinogen and fibronectin. The bacteriocins were active against Bacillus cereus DSM 2301, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Micrococcus luteus and Listeria monocytogenes. Bacteriocins were stable at pH 4 -9 and on treatment with lipase, catalase, a-amylase and pepsin, while their activity was lost on treatment with other proteases. The bacteriocins produced were heat stable at 100°C for 10 min. The bacteriocin produced by the strains was identified as enterocin A. Conclusions: The E. faecium strains in this study exhibited probiotic activity, and the safety investigations indicate their suitability as good candidates for a starter culture fermentation process. Significance and Impact of the Study: The use of bacteriocin-producing E. faecium strains as starter cultures in fermented foods is beneficial but, however, their safety investigations as probiotics must be greatly emphasized.

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Lactobacillus plantarum has been found to be commonly associated with Nigerian indigenous fermented foods. The intraspecies differentiation of L. plantarum using different molecular techniques is essential for the selection of functional strains. In the present study, 48 L. plantarum isolates from some Nigerian indigenous fermented foods; (gari, fufu and ogi) were phenotypically characterized. The intraspecies diversity of 17 selected L. plantarum strains with good acidification rates, hydrogen peroxide production and variation in carbohydrate fermentation patterns were carried out using molecular techniques, 16S-23 rDNA intergenic transcribed spacer and restriction fragment length polymorphism (ITS-PCR and ITS-RFLP), randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The ITS-RFLP-HaeIII, RAPD-OPA5, OPA20 and PFGE-Sfi1 analysis showed genetic diversity among the strains of L. plantarum isolated from the different fermented foods, and it can be established that these molecular tools are useful for differentiation of L. plantarum strains. The molecular techniques used in this study may be considered useful tools for characterization of isolates and for in-depth examination of the strain diversity as the various strains isolated in this study can be used as adjunct and/or starter cultures in food fermentation processes.