Synergistic And Antagonistic Effects On Probiotics

The study focused on the isolation, characterization, and evaluation of probiotic bacteria obtained from natural food sources and human samples using MRS medium. Most probiotic isolates exhibited significant antibacterial activity against selected human pathogens, indicating their therapeutic potential. Aqueous extracts of medicinal plants also showed antibacterial effects, and their combination with probiotics resulted in enhanced synergistic antibacterial activity compared to individual treatments. This highlights the possibility of combination therapy as an alternative to conventional antibiotics for gastrointestinal infections. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed strain-specific resistance patterns, emphasizing the importance of safety assessment and responsible probiotic use. Advanced identification using MALDI-TOF MS and whole-genome sequencing confirmed the isolates as Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus gasseri. Overall, the findings suggest that probiotics, medicinal plants, and prebiotics together form a promising synbiotic approach, offering enhanced antibacterial efficacy, improved stability, and potential development of effective probiotic formulations.