How to routinely assess transition, adhesion and survival of probiotics into the gut: a case study on propionibacteria

Abstract

Summary Two commercial promising probiotic strains (Propionibacterium jensenii and Propionibacterium freudenreichii) were studied to evaluate two basic probiotic requisites (adhesion and survival during the transit into the gut); two commercial starter cultures (Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) were used as references. As an additional goal, the technological robustness was evaluated as growth as a function of pH, temperature and salt. Adhesion was studied as biofilm formation and hydrophobicity, whereas a simplified protocol was used to simulate the transit into the gut, along with the assessment of survival at pH 2.5 and in the presence of 0.3% bile salts. Propionibacteria were hydrophobic and form biofilm on glass slides, thus confirming the correlation of these properties and with the ability to adhere. None of the strains survived after the simulation of the transit into the gut, but this property could be induced in propionibacteria using a simple protocol of adaptive evolution. This paper suggests the possibility of using hydrophobicity as a screening tool to assess adhesion in propionibacteria and highlights the necessity of using a complete protocol of simulation of the gut to study the resistance to the conditions of stomach and intestine to avoid false‐positive results.

Probiotic and Metabolic Characterization of Vaginal Lactobacilli for a Potential Use in Functional Foods

“…These considerations are even more relevant when considering that the hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation values reported for many of the vaginal strains are better than those recorded for GG ATCC ® 53103™ (64% hydrophobicity and 23% autoaggregation), which is a commercial probiotic strain. The data obtained lead to considerations about the functional properties of these strains since the hydrophobic nature of the surface of microorganisms can be related to the attachment of bacteria to host tissues [ 21 , 22 , 32 , 33 , 34 ] conceding to the microorganisms a competitive advantage, important for their permanence in the human gastrointestinal tract [ 33 , 34 ]. In this context the hydrophobicity percentages for the tested strains ranged between 20% and 96%, and among all the strains, only four showed levels of hydrophobicity below 40%.…”

Sourdough bread: A contemporary cereal fermented product

“…Many potential probiotic strains have been isolated from sourdough various regions of the world (Campaniello, Speranza, Petruzzi, Bevilacqua, & Corbo, 2018;Sakandar et al, 2018).…”

“…This is dominating in developing countries due to lack of balanced and sufficient diet (Collar, ). Many potential probiotic strains have been isolated from sourdough various regions of the world (Campaniello, Speranza, Petruzzi, Bevilacqua, & Corbo, ; Sakandar et al, ).…”

Ensuring the future of functional foods

“…Probiotics are the fastest growing group of dietary functional food supplements world‐wide (Champagne et al ., ). These products known as probiotic supplements have been extensively studied over recent years, indicative benefits have been reported such as their ability to neutralise toxins (Corbo et al ., ); good sensory characteristics when microencapsulated (Mokhtari et al ., ) and superior survival and transition through the gut (Campaniello et al ., ). They have also been developed with a range of fortification approaches to further improve health benefits, such as the addition of linoleic acid (Abd El‐Salam et al ., ); green tea fortified with soy (Moumita et al ., ); supplemented with Vitamin D as an aid to weight loss (Mohammadi‐Sartang et al ., ); added to fruit juices (Ephrem et al ., ) and as an adjuvant or a prophylactic therapy in cancer treatment (Serna‐Thome et al ., ; Wardill et al ., ).…”