Karakterisasi Bakteri Asam Laktat dari Nira Nipah (Nypa fruticans)

Abstract

Background: Lactic acid bacteria are a group of gram-positive bacteria in the form of cocci or bacilli. These bacteria are facultative anaerobes, catalase-negative, motile, non-spore-forming, and produce lactic acid as a metabolic end product during carbohydrate fermentation. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play an important role in improving performance and mitigating disease due to their ability to maintain the physiological balance of the gastrointestinal tract and their resistance to pathogenic bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria are classified as homofermentative or heterofermentative based on their metabolic pathways. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fermentation time on the characteristics of lactic acid bacteria isolated from fermented nipah palm sap (Nypa fruticans). Methods: The method used in this study was to identify and characterize lactic acid bacteria by conducting a series of biochemical tests such as the catalase test, triple sugar iron agar (TSIA) test, fermentation, sulfur indole motility (SIM), and Simmons citrate test. Results: The study showed that 12 bacterial colonies were successfully isolated from the fermented nipah sap. Based on biochemical tests, the catalase test was negative, the triple sugar iron (TSI) test for 6 acid/acid (A/A), 5 alkali/alkali (K/K), and 1 alkali/acid (K/A) isolates showed homofermentation, the Sulfur Indole Motility (SIM) test was negative, and 7 isolates had a Simmons citrate test with 5 positive isolates. Conclusion: There were 12 lactic acid bacteria isolates from the fermented nipah sap that showed negative catalase characteristics, homofermentation type of fermentation, did not produce sulfide and indole, and had variations in sugar fermentation ability on TSIA media and citrate utilization.