Bhubaneswar: A new probiotic bacteria with potential health benefits has been discovered by researchers of the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneswar.

Dr. Shantibhusan Senapaiti, a senior scientist, and his team of researchers found the probiotic bacteria 'Ligilactobacillus salivarius F14' from the gut of tribal people of Odisha which has the potential to exhibit antimicrobial properties and modulate immune responses in host cells.

The ILS conducted the research under supervision of its former director late Ajay Parida with support of the Department of Biotechnology of the Centre three years ago.

As part of the programme, several scientists at ILS are overseeing various research projects aimed at enhancing the health and well-being of tribal people of Odisha.

According to official sources, one of the studies being conducted by the ILS team involves investigating the potential use of beneficial microorganisms to enhance the health status of tribal people.

Beneficial microorganisms, commonly referred to as probiotics, offer a variety of health advantages to both humans and animals if consumed in sufficient quantities. These organisms have been shown to aid in the prevention and management of a range of health conditions, including diarrhea, obesity, and various immune-related disorders, according to researchers.

The ILS researchers team led by Shantibhusan Senapati isolated multiple probiotics and characterised those. One of these beneficial bacteria's entire genome sequence and other probiotic properties were recently published by the team in the 'World journal of microbiology and biotechnology'.

According to Jayalaxmi Dash and Manisha Sethi, who authored the aforementioned article, the whole genome sequencing has been completed for three additional probiotics, and the sequences have already been submitted to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database in the United States.

As the beneficial bacteria has been found in tribal people of Odisha, this organism has the potential to be more beneficial to them and could help in enhancing their overall health in future. "We may incorporate these probiotics into functional food for improved health in future," Senapati said.

On success of the project, Pulok Kumar Mukherjee, the Director of ILS stated that the institute will make a more concerted effort to develop functional foods utilizing these probiotics in the future.