Antioxidant properties and molecular mechanisms of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZJ316: A potential probiotic resource

Oxidative stress is a hallmark of many cancers. Probiotics with antioxidant properties have been found to alleviate oxidative stress. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZJ316 (L. plantarum ZJ316) is an exceptional strain that shows excellent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) tolerance, sensitivity to the seven antibiotics (ampicillin, gentamicin, kanamycin, erythromycin, glycine, tetracycline and chloramphenicol) recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and exhibits good cell hydrophobicity and Caco-2 adhesion ability, but its antioxidant mechanism is unclear. This study showed that L. plantarum ZJ316 can withstand 2.5mmol/L H2O2 and both its intact cells and fermentation supernatant exhibit strong free radical scavenging ability. Furthermore, cell homogenate and fermented supernatant (ZJ316 FS) of L. plantarum ZJ316 performed higher activity of antioxidant enzymes. In addition, the mRNA level of antioxidant genes in L. plantarum ZJ316 regulated cell redox homeostasis in an orderly manner, demonstrating the antioxidant mechanism of L. plantarum ZJ316 at the transcriptional level. In summary, L. plantarum ZJ316 has good adhesion and antioxidant properties, no hemolytic activity and no drug resistance transfer, indicating that L. plantarum ZJ316 holds the potential to be utilized as a redox modulator probiotic in functional foods.