Abstract
Background: Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have great therapeutic and nutritional benefits. Among these are: Improved nutritional value of food, control of intestinal infections, improved digestion of lactose, immune modulator effect, control of some types of cancer and control of serum glucose level. Objective: The aim of this study was carried out to evaluate the therapeutic effect of mu-glucan extracted from LAB was isolated from different food sources in Egypt. Materials and Methods: The isolation was performed from local Egyptian boza, cider, cheese and yoghurt. Only seven species from 27 was identified as LAB. Only one showed to produce mu-glucan and identified by VITEC (R) 2 as Pediococcus parvulus. The optimization of isolate growth was examined in different temperature, pH and media. Results: The study revealed that the optimum temperature was 37 degrees C, pH was 6 and the most selective medium for growth was Pediococcus selective medium (PSM). Beta-glucan production was assessed by FT-IR analysis, HPLC and HNMR spectroscopy. The therapeutic effect of Pediococcus parvulus beta-glucan as antioxidant against DPPH was more significant, cholesterol lowering effect of beta-glucan gave valuable results compared to simvastatin drug, the antibacterial effect and control of cancer in vitro against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) were also gave valuable results. Conclusion: The extracted beta-glucan from Egyptian Pediococcus parvulus had different therapeutic effect in vitro including, antioxidative properties, antimicrobial, control of cancer and cholesterol lowering effect.