Background: The addition of sub therapeutic doses of antibiotics to cattle feed for growth promotion is a contributory
factor to antibiotic resistance, thus an alternative to antibiotics is needed in animal feed additives.
Objective: To determine the antimicrobial activity of cow’s intestinal Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) against enteric commensals.
Method: Escherichia coli
,
Klebsiella
species (spp) and LAB were isolated from thirty different cow faecal samples and the
LAB identified by partial sequencing of 16S rRNA. The antimicrobial activity of the LAB was determined against the test
Escherichia coli and
Klebsiella spp.
Results: Five species of LAB were isolated from thirty cow faecal samples and identified as
Enterococcus hirae
(8),
Enterococcus durans
(6),
Enterococcus faecium
(1),
Enterococcus faecalis
(1) and
Weissella confusa
(1). Viable cells and cell free
supernatant (CFS) of the LAB were able to inhibit the growth of the test organisms with the largest zone of inhibition by
the viable cells being 26mm against
Escherichia coli CB6 produced by
Enterococcus hirae CO6A while
Weissella confusa
CO29M and
Enterococcus hirae CO2A produced the largest zones of inhibition (26mm) against
Klebsiella CB2.
Conclusion: This study shows that LAB from cow faeces possess considerable antimicrobial activity against resistant
Escherichia
coli from the same environment.
