title: Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum, a butyrate producer with probiotic potential, is intrinsically tolerant to stomach and small intestine conditions.
abstract: Butyrate has several beneficial properties that are essential to maintain gastrointestinal health. Therefore butyrate-producing bacteria are seen as the next generation of probiotics. The butyrate-producing bacterium Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum (a clostridial cluster IV strain) is such a promising probiotic candidate for people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. To exert its beneficial properties, it is crucial that B. pullicaecorum survives the harsh conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract to arrive in the colon in a viable and metabolically active state. Before developing a stable formulation of B. pullicaecorum for oral administration, it is important to know its intrinsic acid and bile tolerance. We monitored the survival during and short chain fatty acid production after incubation in conditions simulating the stomach and small intestine using in vitro batch experiments. In case of acid conditions (pH 2 and pH 3), B. pullicaecorum was viable and active but not cultivable. Cultivability was restored during subsequent small intestine conditions. Importantly, bile and pancreatic juice had no lethal effect. Milk, as a suspension medium, only had a protective effect on the cultivability during the first hour at pH 2. B. pullicaecorum was still metabolically active after upper gastrointestinal conditions and produced short chain fatty acids, but a shift from butyrate to acetate production was observed. Although the butyrate-producing anaerobe B. pullicaecorum showed good intrinsic acid and bile tolerance in terms of viability and metabolic activity, colonization efficiency and butyrate production under colon conditions is needed to further evaluate its probiotic potential.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geirnaert
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alix
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steyaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Venessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Eeckhaut
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Debruyne
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan B A
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Arends
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Immerseel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: tom.vandewiele@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van de Wiele
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000143:Acids / Q000633:toxicity; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000382:microbiology*; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000187:drug effects*; D010189:Pancreatic Juice / Q000378:metabolism; D019936:Probiotics; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D000143:Acids; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D002087:Butyrates; D005227:Fatty Acids
keywords: Clostridial cluster IV; Gastric pH; IBD; In vitro; Resistance; Survival