<![CDATA[The aim of the research was to characterize of the six species of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) indigenous (Lactobacillus acidophilus KBc, Lb. salivarius KBd, Lb. brevis KBa, Lb. delbrueckii KBe, Lb. plantarum KBb and Lactococcus lactis KBf) isolated from the fermented horse milk of Bima. The tests were done to cover safety aspect, ability to survive on low pH condition, bile salt tolerance, ability to adherence and colonization, and effect on cholesterol level reduction. The six LAB species were not pathogen and invasive, and were able to grow well on media which contained bile salt of 0.75 %. Lactobacillus acidophilus KBc and Lb. brevis KBa had ability to survive on media pH 2.5 for 3 hours and were able to adherence and colonization on gut mucosa epithel. Lactobacillus acidophilus KBc and Lb. brevis KBa had ability to reduce cholesterol level of blood serum of rabbits on hypercholesterolemia condition significantly up to 53.74 % and 51.70 %, respectively. Based on the characterization of the six species LAB, only Lactobacillus acidophilus KBc and Lb. brevis KBa can be used as probiotic.ABSTRAKPada penelitian ini telah dilakukan karakterisasi terhadap enam spesies bakteri asam laktat (BAL) indigenous (Lac- tobacillus acidophilus KBc, Lb. salivarius KBd, Lb. brevis KBa, Lb. delbrueckii KBe, Lb. plantarum KBb dan Lac- tococcus lactis KBf) yang diisolasi dari susu kuda liar Bima terfermentasi. Pengujian yang dilakukan meliputi aspek keamanan, ketahanan hidup pada media pH rendah, kemampuan tumbuh pada media yang mengandung garam em- pedu, kemampuan menempel dan berkolonisasi, dan efek terhadap penurunan kadar kolesterol serum darah. Keenam spesies BAL tersebut tidak patogen dan invasif, serta dapat tumbuh baik pada media yang mengandung garam empedu 0,75 %. Lactobacillus acidophilus KBc dan Lb. brevis KBa tahan hidup pada media pH 2,5 selama 3 jam serta dapat menempel dan berkolonisasi pada epitel mukosa usus. Kedua bakteri ini mampu menurunkan kadar kolesterol serum darah kelinci dalam keadaan hiperkolesterolemia secara nyata masing-masing sebesar 53,74 % dan 51,70 %. Berdasar- kan karakterisasi keenam spesies BAL tersebut, Lb. acidophilus KBc dan Lb. brevis KBa dapat dipergunakan sebagai probiotik.]]>
