ABSTRACT:
Lactose intolerance in humans is the major concern in current scenario. ß-Galactosidase has tremendous potential in the preparations of lactose free product development. The present research was carried out to screen ß-GalactosidaseproducingLactic acid bacteria (LAB) from milk and milk products such asdonkey milk, Curd and yogurt. Based on the morphological characteristics, about 70 bacterial colonies were selected. Out of these, 5 isolates from donkey milk, 7 from curd and 3 from yogurt sample were found positive for ß-Galactosidase production using X-Gal method. Potent strains were identified by determining the enzyme activity using ONPG assay.The maximum enzyme activity was found in isolate no. VITDM15 (Donkey milk) with of 375.21 AU/ml followed by 235.36 AU/ml from VITCD01(Curd) and 142.35 AU/ml from VITYT13(Yogurt) respectively. Hence these strains can be exploited for lactose free product development.