Safety Assessment and Evaluation of Probiotic Potential of IDCC 3601 for Human Use.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are probiotic microorganisms widely used for their health benefits in the food industry. However, recent concerns regarding their safety have highlighted the need for comprehensive safety assessments. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety of IDCC 3601, isolated from homemade plain yogurt, via genomic, phenotypic, and toxicity-based analyses. IDCC 3601 possessed a single circular chromosome of 1,865,001 bp, with a GC content of 49.72%, and 1910 predicted coding sequences. No virulence or antibiotic resistance genes were detected. Although IDCC 3601 exhibited antibiotic resistance to gentamicin and kanamycin, this resistance is an intrinsic feature of this species. IDCC 3601 did not produce biogenic amines and did not exhibit hemolytic activity. Phenotypic analysis of enzyme activity and carbohydrate fermentation profiles revealed the metabolic features of IDCC 3601. Moreover, no deaths or abnormalities were observed in single-dose oral toxicity tests, suggesting that IDCC 3601 has no adverse effect on human health. Finally, IDCC 3601 inhibited the growth of potential carbapenem-resistant . Therefore, our results suggest that IDCC 3601 is a safe probiotic strain for human consumption.