Lactic acid fermentation as a tool to enhance the functional features of Echinacea spp

Table 1 Inhibitory spectrum of the Echinacea suspension (ES)

Microorganism	ES-CT	1MR20-ES	C2-ES	POM1-ES	1MR20/C2-ES
Escherichia coli DSM 30083	-	-	++	+	++
Enterococcus durans DSM 20633	-	-	++	-	++
Yersinia enterocolitica DSM 4780	-	-	+++	++	+++
Bacillus megaterium F6	-	+	++++	+++	++++
Enterobacter aerogenes DSM 30053	-	-	+++	+	+++
Weissella confusa DSM 20196	-	-	+++	++	+++
Leuconostoc lactis DSM 20202	-	-	+++	+++	+++
Lactobacillus sakei SAL1	-	-	-	-	-
Propionibacterium jensenii DSM 20535	-	-	++	+	++
Candida krusei DSM 3433	-	-	-	-	-
Penicillium roqueforti DPPMA1	-	-	-	-	-

Inhibitory activity was scored as follows: -: no inhibition; +: inhibition zone diameter 0.5-1 mm; ++: inhibition zone diameter 1-2.5 mm; +++: inhibition zone diameter 2.5-3.5 mm; ++++: inhibition zone diameter >3.5 mm.
ES was fermented for 24 h at 30°C with Lactobacillus plantarum 1MR20 (1MR20-ES), C2 (C2-ES) and POM1 (POM1-ES), and with the association between strains 1MR20 and C2 (1MR20/C2-ES), as determined by agar diffusion assay. The chemically acidified ES, without bacterial inoculum, and incubated for 24 h at 30°C (ES-CT), was the control.

ISSN: 1475-2859