In the present study, nine lactic acid bacteria isolated from the fermentation process of "cupuaçu" (Theobroma grandiflorum) were selected for probiotic use. In vitro (resistance to gastrointestinal environment, in vitro antagonism and co-aggregation with pathogens) and in vivo (intestinal colonization and ex vivo antagonism in germ-free mice, cumulative mortality, translocation to liver and spleen, histopathological examination of liver and ileum and mRNA cytokine gene expression during an experimental infection with S. Typhimurium) assays were used. Among the nine Lactobacillus strains isolated from the "cupuaçu" fermentation, L. plantarum 81 and L. plantarum 90 were selected as potential probiotics based on better results obtained in in vitro evaluations (production of diffusible inhibitory compounds and co-aggregation) as well as in vivo experiments (resistance to gastrointestinal environment, ex vivo antagonism, higher survival after enteropathogen challenge, lower hepatic translocation of enteropathogen, lower histopathological lesions in ileum and liver and anti-inflammatory pattern of immunological response). Concluding, L. plantarum 81 and L. plantarum 90 showed in vitro and in vivo capacities for probiotic use through different mechanisms of protection and its origin would allow an easier adaptation in an alimentary matrix for its administration.
Keywords: Infectious challenge; Lactobacillus plantarum; Probiotic selection; Salmonella Typhimurium; “Cupuaçu” fermentation.