title: Strategies for the evaluation and selection of potential vaginal probiotics from human sources: an exemplary study.
abstract: During the last years, the application of probiotics in gynaecological clinical practice has gained increasing relevance regarding therapy and prevention. This trend has also provoked the need for having tailored pharmaceutical preparations containing powerful microbial strains with defined properties. For the development of such preparations, several factors and criteria have to be considered, thereby not only focusing on identity and safety aspects as well as individual properties of the bacterial strains, but also on technological issues, such as stability and targeted release from the preparation. Against this background, this report exemplarily addresses the development procedure of a probiotic bacterial formulation for gynaecological application, covering the search for suitable strains, assessing their microbiological, molecular biological and physiological characterisation, and the selection for their use in clinical trials. In detail, starting with 127 presumptive lactobacilli isolates of vaginal origin, a step-by-step selection of candidate strains meeting special criteria was thoroughly examined, finally leading to a preparation consisting of four individual Lactobacillus strains that possess particular significance in women's urogenital health. Relevant issues and quality criteria of probiotic preparations used in gynecology are addressed and exemplarily introduced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Domig
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Fetomaternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Fetomaternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Petricevic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Viernstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kneifel
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D058889:Molecular Typing; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents
keywords: development; gynaecology; lactobacilli; probiotic