Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(2): 2632-2643 2632 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.702.320 Evaluation of Probiotic Properties of Yeasts Isolated from Sidra - An Ethnic Fermented Fish Product of North East India Jasveen Bajwa and Nivedita Sharma * Microbiology Research Laboratory, Department of Basic Sciences, Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan-173230, HP, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Geographically North East (NE) India is located within the Eastern Himalayas and Purvanchal Himalayas. The Eastern Himalayan region lies between the latitudes 26° 40'-29° 30' North and longitudes 88° 5' - 97° 5' East and covers a total area of 93,988 km2 comprising two North East states, viz. Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, besides eastern Nepal, Darjeeling hills in India, Bhutan and Tibetan Autonomous Region in China (Tamang, 2010). Fermented foods have heterogeneousness of traditions and cultural preferences found in the different geographical areas, where they are produced. They have been consumed since ancient times due to their prolonged shelf life, reduced volume, shorter cooking times and superior nutritive value as compared to the non- fermented ingredients. Fermentation processes are considered as developed in order to preserve food (Rolle and Satin, 2002). Ethnic fermented foods and alcoholic beverages and drinks have been consumed by the ethnic people of North East India for more than 2500 years old as per the historical records (Tamang, 2010). International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 02 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Sidra is a traditional sun-dried fish product of the North Eastern India. A total of 13 probiotic yeasts were isolated and and evaluated on the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics and were examined for their antagonistic activity against various food borne pathogens i.e., Staphylococcus aureus, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Bacillus cereus, Pectobacterium carotovorum, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas syringae, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, and Clostridium perfringens. Based on their maximum antagonistic potential against food borne pathogens two isolates i.e F3 and F6 were characterized using ITS gene sequencing and the isolates were identified as Debaroymyces hensanii F3 |MF588674|and Candida psychrophila F6 |MF616363|. These two isolates were further screened for their probiotic potential i.e acid and bile tolerane, autoaggregation and coaggregation, hydrophobicity, had been performed. This study affirms the potential of selected probiotic yeast strains as excellent probiotic candidates with exceptional therapeutic effect. Keywords Sidra, Morphological, Biochemical, Antagonistic activity, Acid and bile tolerance, Hydrophobicity. Autoaggregation and Coaggregation Accepted: 24 January 2018 Available Online: 10 February 2018 Article Info