Abstract
Objectives
To evaluate the production of inhibitory substances against several urogenital pathogens
and to determine the compatibility between selected vaginal lactobacilli to be considered
as probiotic candidates.
Study design
The inhibitory activity of 38 vaginal Lactobacillus strains against urogenital pathogens was assessed using the agar plate diffusion.
Method
The production of hydrogen peroxide was determined by the semi-qualitative tetramethyl-benzidine-peroxidase
assay and that of lactic acid by high performance liquid chromatography. Pre-selected
lactobacilli were genetically identified by ribosomal 16S-DNA sequencing and used
to determine the compatibility of strains. Correlation values between some inhibitory
properties were calculated.
Results
45% of the lactobacilli assayed inhibited the growth of various urogenital pathogens,
except Candida albicans, mainly by the effect of organic acids. Even though 71% of the Lactobacillus strains produced hydrogen peroxide in the semi-qualitative test, the antimicrobial
effect of the oxidative metabolite on pathogens was not detected under the experimental
conditions assayed. On the other hand, the inhibition spectrum of salivaricin CRL
1328 was widened with respect to the one previously reported by our research team.
With respect to the degree of interaction between the pre-selected lactobacilli, most
of them showed inhibition of at least one strain, mainly due to the effects of both
organic acids and hydrogen peroxide.
Conclusion
Several lactobacilli that showed inhibitory activity against urogenital pathogens
or produced hydrogen peroxide are compatible between them. Therefore, different potential
combinations of strains are proposed for their inclusion in the design of probiotic
products to be vaginally administered for the prevention of urogenital infections
in women.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 29, 2011
Accepted:
July 11,
2011
Received in revised form:
June 22,
2011
Received:
January 21,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
