title: Topical application of probiotics in skin: adhesion, antimicrobial and antibiofilm in vitro assays.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  When skin dysbiosis occurs as a result of skin disorders, probiotics can act as modulators, restoring microbial balance. Several properties of selected probiotics were evaluated so that their topical application could be considered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adhesion, antimicrobial, quorum sensing and antibiofilm assays were carried out with several probiotic strains and tested against selected skin pathogens. All tested strains displayed significant adhesion to keratin. All lactobacilli with the exception of Lactobacillus delbrueckii, showed antimicrobial activity against skin pathogens, mainly due to organic acid production. Most of them also prevented biofilm formation, but only Propioniferax innocua was able to break down mature biofilms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that although all tested probiotics adhered to human keratin, they showed limited ability to prevent adhesion of some potential skin pathogens. Most of the tested probiotics successfully prevented biofilm formation, suggesting that they may be successfully used in the future as a complement to conventional therapies in the treatment of a range of skin disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The topically used probiotics may be a natural, targeted treatment approach to several skin disorders and a complement to conventional therapies which present many undesirable side effects.
authors.affiliation: CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gullón
authors.affiliation: CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gullón
authors.affiliation: CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cardelle-Cobas
authors.affiliation: CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina - Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: F K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Tavaria
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects; D064806:Dysbiosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000187:drug effects; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D007633:Keratins
keywords: Staphylococci; antimicrobials; biofilms; probiotics; quorum sensing