Bacterial autoaggregation and coaggregation
It can be observed that the LAB showed good autoaggregation. This indicates a high potential for intestinal colonization, preventing fixation, and, consequently, the proliferation of pathogens through competitive exclusion. Several studies support the great autoaggregation potential of LAB; Abushelaibi et al. [20] showed autoaggregation of up to 38.8% using LAB isolated from milk, and 14.8% when using commercial probiotics. Thus, the bacteria used in this study have great potential for use as a bioprotective agent, with greater autoaggregation than commercial probiotics.
Coaggregation demonstrates the potential for immobilization of pathogens by bioprotective and/or probiotic bacteria. The E. coli strain used showed high autoaggregation potential, that is, great intestinal colonization capacity. Thus, the sequestration of this bacteria by bioprotective agents is extremely necessary.
The LAB strains showed great coaggregation activity, demonstrating their pathogen sequestration potential; it is reported that the ability of coaggregation is directly linked to autoaggregation. This creates a protective film on the surface of the intestine, occupying the limited number of receptors on the surface of intestinal cells, making them unavailable for use by pathogens [21].
Abusheilaibi et al. [20] demonstrated sequestration of 10.5% of E. coli O157:H7, S.Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus when using a commercial probiotic strain. This index is lower than the index obtained in this study, highlighting the potential of the bacteria evaluated here.