title: Antimicrobial activity of selected synbiotics targeted for the elderly against pathogenic Escherichia coli strains.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of two synbiotic combinations, Lactobacillus fermentum with short-chain fructooligosaccharides (FOS-LF) and Bifidobacterium longum with isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO-BL), against enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and enteropathogenic E. coli O86. Antimicrobial activity was determined (1) by co-culturing the synbiotics and pathogens in batch cultures, and (2) with the three-stage continuous culture system (gut model), inoculated with faecal slurry from an elderly donor. In the co-culture experiments, IMO-BL was significantly inhibitory to both E. coli strains, while FOS-LF was slightly inhibitory or not inhibitory. Factors other than acid production appeared to play a role in the inhibition. In the gut models, both synbiotics effectively inhibited E. coli O157 in the first vessel, but not in vessels 2 and 3. E. coli O86 was not significantly inhibited.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Technology, Laboratory of Food Microbiology , A.T.E.I. of Thessaloniki , Thessaloniki , Greece ;
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Likotrafiti
authors.affiliation: b Department of Food Quality and Nutrition , Research and Innovation Centre - Fondazione Edmund Mach , S. Michele ( TN ) , Italy ;
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tuohy
authors.affiliation: c Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: c Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rastall
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000898:Antibiosis / Q000502:physiology; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D000069978:Bifidobacterium longum / Q000502:physiology*; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D054324:Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D054308:Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D052197:Limosilactobacillus fermentum / Q000502:physiology*; D019936:Probiotics; D058616:Synbiotics
keywords: Bifidobacterium; Lactobacillus; gut model