The present study focused on probiotic characterization and safety evaluation of
Enterococcus
isolates from different artisanal dairy products. All the isolates exhibited inhibitory activity against several food spoilage bacteria and food-borne pathogens, including
Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli
, and
Bacillus subtilis
. The PCR results indicated the presence of at least one enterocin structural gene in all the tested strains. The
Enterococcus
isolates were further evaluated regarding their safety properties and functional features. The isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, gentamycin, and chloramphenicol. The results of PCR amplification revealed that all the tested isolates harbored none of the tested virulence genes except
E. faecalis
(ES9), which showed the presence of
esp
gene. The
Enterococcus
isolates showed cholesterol lowering properties. The selected isolates showed a high tolerance to low pH, and toward bile salts. They also demonstrated hydrophobicity activity, auto-aggregation, and adhesion ability to the human intestinal Caco-2 cell line. These properties may contribute the bacteria colonizing the gut. This study revealed that the
Enterococcus
isolates, especially
E. durans
ES11, ES20 and ES32, might be excellent candidates for production of functional foods to promote health benefits.
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