Anticancer and probiotic activities of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei isolated from traditionally fermented pickles.

BACKGROUND

Probiotics are living organisms and play a pivotal role in the natural treatment of gastrointestinal disorders including diarrhea, constipation, lactose intolerance and some bowel cancers. Beneficial effects are mostly attributed to postbiotic metabolites produced by bacteria, and the unique biological characteristics may vary depending on their species and source. The present study focused on identifying unique Lacticaseibacillus paracasei strains with unique probiotic and anticancer effects originating from fermented pickles.

RESULTS

Bacterial strains isolated from naturally fermented pickles were identified by 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Their probiotic properties were determined in simulated gastrointestinal environments created by pancreatin and pepsin. In addition, their adhesion capacities on L-929, HT-29 and Caco-2 cell lines were tested and then the cytotoxic effects of postbiotic metabolites and bacterial extracts obtained from bacterial isolates on cell lines were tested to determine their anticancer activities. In the overall results, isolates were found to be acceptable probiotics and to have anticancer activity.

CONCLUSION

In addition to the acceptable activities of all strains, by elucidating their interaction mechanisms and evaluating their probiotic, functional and antiproliferative effects under in vivo conditions, especially LP001 and LP002 could be true sources of probiotics with anticancer effects in food and healthcare fields. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.