Abstract: The aim of this study was to obtain excellent probiotic bacteria from traditional Chinese fermented meat products. A total of 62 bacterial strains from the Miao, Dong and Buyi ethnic groups’ traditional fermented sour meat in selected regions of Guizhou, China were isolated, identified and evaluated for their probiotic potential. Twelve strains with good tolerance to simulated gastric juice were identified, including one strain of Companilactobacillus farciminis, five strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, three strains of Staphylococcus saprophyticus and three strains of S. casei. Among them, C. farciminis KLMM196, L. plantarum KLMM198, S. saprophyticus KLMM253, S. casei KLMM307 and S. casei KLMM313 exhibited good gastrointestinal tolerance, hydrophobicity, self-aggregation ability, strong probiotic potential, and no hemolytic activity.

Key words: sour meat; isolation and identification; lactic acid bacteria; coagulase-negative staphylococci; probiotic potential