Minas artisanal cheese as a reservoir of potentially probiotic Lacticaseibacillus paracasei GV17 and Lactococcus lactis GV103 and their functional properties and kinetic mechanisms

Selecting new probiotics involves evaluating their functional, technological and safety properties to ensure both health benefits and product stability. The study focused on evaluating the probiotic potential of ten lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from Minas artisanal cheese through safety and functional tests. The strains were resistant to kanamycin and vancomycin but susceptible to clindamycin and did not exhibit hemolytic activity. Autoaggregation values ranged from 0.97 to 85.23% at 4 °C. Lactococcus lactis GV103 showed the highest hydrophobicity result (45.60%). In interactions with pathogens, the ten strains demonstrated the capacity for multiplication. GV17, GV103 and GV15 survived the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) simulation conditions. Milk fermentation, evaluation of technological properties and GIT resistance in a dairy matrix were performed with the strains Lacticaseibacillus paracasei GV17 and Lactococcus lactis GV103, which showed the best performance in probiotic screening tests. In lactic fermentation tests, GV103 exhibited a growth rate of 2.37 log CFU/h and fit the Baranyi model, with a correlation coefficient of 0.898. After 28 days of storage, the syneresis and water holding capacity of were 57.04% and 23.43%, respectively for GV17, and 51.80% and 27.85% for GV103. Furthermore, these strains maintained populations above 8.00 log CFU/mL. Under conditions simulating the GIT in a dairy matrix, both strains showed counts above 9 log CFU/mL after 360 min. Technologically stable and potentially probiotic strains, like GV17 and GV103, offer promising opportunities for developing health-enhancing functional foods.