1678 Original Article Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 EVALUATION OF ADHESIVE PROPERTIES OF PRESUMPTIVE PROBIOTIC Lactobacillus plantarum STRAINS AVALIAÇÃO DAS PROPRIEDADES DE ADESÃO DE PRESUMÍVEIS ESTIRPES PROBIÓTICAS DE Lactobacillus plantarum Francesca Silva DIAS 1 ; Whasley Ferreira DUARTE 2 ; Rosane Freitas SCHWAN 3 1. Médica Veterinária, Professora Adjunta do Colegiado de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco – UNIVASF, Petrolina, PE, Brasil. francesca.nobre@univasf.edu.br; 2. Engenheiro Agrônomo, Professor Adjunto do Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras – UFLA, Lavras, MG, Brasil; 3. Engenheira Agrônoma, Professora Associada do Departamento de Biologia - UFLA, Lavras, MG, Brasil. ABSTRACT: Thirty-two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum UFLA SAU from pork sausages, pre-selected for some features for probiotic application, were utilized in this study to evaluate their adhesive properties and compare the results against the three pathogens also tested. Strains were tested for autoaggregation and coaggregation capacity and Microbial Adhesion To Solvents (MATS) at the time intervals of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h. Our findings revealed that UFLA SAU strains have a high autoaggregative capacity and coaggregative ability with pathogens, especially Listeria monocytogenes. In relation to adhesion to solvents, in general, L. plantarum strains showed hydrophilic cell surface properties and an important electron donor and basic character. Adhesive properties were markedly separated for the strains under study by Principal Component Analysis software. UFLA SAU 132, 226 and 87 were differentiated by autoaggregation ability. UFLA SAU 11 and Listeria monocytogenes were characterized by adhesion to solvents. UFLA SAU 14, 18 and 172 showed high coaggregation with Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi and Listeria monocytogenes. In comparison to the pathogens tested, many UFLA SAU strains presented higher adhesive capacity. These tests should be used for screening and identifying potentially adherent microorganisms. Adhesive properties are important features for the choice of probiotic strains and confer various applications, such as in the pharmaceutical (therapeutic or prophylactic) and food (functional foods) industries. KEYWORDS: Lactobacillus plantarum. Autoaggregation. Coaggregation. Adhesion to solvents. INTRODUCTION Lactobacillus plantarum is a member of the facultatively heterofermentative group of lactobacilli. It is a heterogeneous and versatile species that is encountered in a variety of environmental niches, including dairy, meat, fish, and many vegetable or plant fermentations. Moreover, strains of L. plantarum have proven ability in surviving gastric transit and colonizing the intestinal tract of humans and other mammals (DE VRIES et al., 2006; GEORGIEVA et al., 2009). The species has been evaluated for its probiotic potential and it is applied as adjunct cultures in various types of food products or in therapeutic preparations. L. plantarum strains are used in commercial probiotics in the market characterizing health products (DE VRIES et al., 2006; LEE et al. 2011; JENSEN et al. 2012). In the screening process for new probiotic strains, there are no clearly established bacterial phenotypic markers that could be used for prediction of the health promotion capacity of lactobacilli (VOLTAN et al., 2007; KOTZAMANIDIS. et al., 2010). However, for the strain to exert a beneficial health effect, its adherence in the intestine of the host is required. Thus, the adhesion ability to the intestinal epithelium is one of the most important characteristics of lactobacilli, as well as one of the main criteria for selecting probiotic strains (OUWEHAND et al., 1999; CANDELA et al., 2008). Bacterial adhesion is initially based on non-specific physical interactions between two surfaces, which then enable specific interactions between adhesins (usually proteins) and complementary receptors (PÉREZ et al. 1998; BOS et al. 1999). Autoaggregation of probiotic strains is necessary for adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells, and coaggregation abilities may form a barrier that prevents colonization by pathogenic microorganisms (DEL RE et al. 2000; KOTZAMANIDIS et al., 2010). Physicochemical characteristics of the cell surface, such as hydrophobicity and charges, may affect autoaggregation and adhesion of bacteria to different surfaces (DEL RE et al. 2000; GIAOURIS et al., 2009). The correlation between hydrophobicity and adhesion ability has been observed in some lactobacilli (DEL RE et al. 2000; GIAOURIS et al., 2009; KOTZAMANIDIS et al., Received: 18/09/12 Accepted: 03/13/13