IntroductionEnvironmental enteropathy (EE), a chronic small intestine disease characterized by gut inflammation, is widely prevalent in low-income countries and is hypothesized to be caused by continuous exposure to fecal contamination. Targeted nutritional interventions using potential probiotic strains from fermented foods can be an effective strategy to inhibit enteric pathogens and prevent chronic gut inflammation.MethodsWe isolated potential strains from fermented rice water and lemon pickle and investigated their cell surface properties, antagonistic properties, adhesion to HT-29 cells, and inhibition of pathogen adherence to HT-29 cells. Bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) were purified, andin vivo, survival studies inCaenorhabditis elegansinfected withSalmonella entericaMW116733 were performed. We further checked the expression pattern of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL8, and IL-10) in HT-29 cells supplemented with strains.ResultsThe strains isolated from rice water (RS) and lemon pickle (T1) were identified asLimosilactobacillus fermentumMN410703 and MN410702, respectively. Strains showed probiotic properties like tolerance to low pH (pH 3.0), bile salts up to 0.5%, simulated gastric juice at low pH, and binding to extracellular matrix molecules. Auto-aggregation of T1 was in the range of 85% and significantly co-aggregated withKlebsiella pneumoniae, S. enterica,andEscherichia coliat 48, 79, and 65%, respectively. Both strains had a higher binding affinity to gelatin and heparin compared toBacillus clausii. Susceptibility to most aminoglycoside, cephalosporin, and macrolide classes of antibiotics was also observed. RS showed BLIS activity againstK. pneumoniae,S. aureus,andS. enterica at60, 48, and 30%, respectively, and the protective effects of BLIS from RS in theC. elegansinfection model demonstrated a 70% survival rate of the worms infected withS. enterica. RS and T1 demonstrated binding efficiency to HT-29 cell lines in the 38–46% range, and both strains inhibited the adhesion ofE. coliMDR andS. enterica. Upregulation of IL-6 and IL-10 and the downregulation of IL-8 were observed when HT-29 cells were treated with RS, indicating the immunomodulatory effects of the strain.DiscussionThe potential strains identified could effectively inhibit enteric pathogens and prevent environmental enteropathy.