Isolation of lactobacilli with probiotic properties from the human stomach.
OBJECTIVE
Recent evidence suggests that the human gastric microbiota is much more diverse than previously thought. The aim of this study was to assess the potential for isolating lactobacilli from the human stomach.


RESULTS
Lactobacilli were selectively cultured from gastric biopsies from 12 patients undergoing routine endoscopy. Lactobacilli were present in four of 12 biopsies. We isolated, in total 10 different strains representing five species (Lactobacillus gasseri, L. fermentum, L. vaginalis, L. reuteri and L. salivarius). The 10 isolates varied greatly in their ability to inhibit the growth of two Gram-positive bacteria and two Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, the acid and bile resistance profiles of the 10 isolates spanned a wide range.


CONCLUSIONS
Five different Lactobacillus species were cultured from human gastric biopsies for the first time.


CONCLUSIONS
Diverse Lactobacillus species are more prevalent in the human stomach than previously recognized, representing an untapped source of bacteria with beneficial probiotic and/or biotechnological properties.
Ryan
K A
KA
Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Jayaraman
T
T
Daly
P
P
Canchaya
C
C
Curran
S
S
Fang
F
F
Quigley
E M
EM
O'Toole
P W
PW
D000143:Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001646:Bile / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D019936:Probiotics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000032:analysis; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology*
D000143:Acids; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S