title: Nutritional stimulation of commensal oral bacteria suppresses pathogens: the prebiotic concept.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify potential oral prebiotics that selectively stimulate commensal, albeit beneficial bacteria of the resident oral microbial community while suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using Phenotype MicroArrays as a high-throughput method, the change in respiratory activity of 16 oral bacteria in response to 742 nutritional compounds was screened. Most promising prebiotic compounds were selected and applied in single species growth and biofilm formation assays, as well as dual species (beneficial-pathogen) competition assays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased respiratory activity could not always be related to an increase in growth or biofilm formation. Six compounds were used in dual species competition assays to directly monitor if selective nutritional stimulation of the beneficial bacterium results in the suppression of the pathogenic bacterium. Two compounds, beta-methyl-d-galactoside and N-acetyl-d-mannosamine, could be identified as potential oral prebiotic compounds, triggering selectively beneficial oral bacteria throughout the experiments and shifting dual species biofilm communities towards a beneficial dominating composition at in vitro level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our observations support the hypothesis that nutritional stimulation of beneficial bacteria by prebiotics could be used to restore the microbial balance in the oral cavity and by this promote oral health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4136-9627
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Slomka
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Sanabria
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Esteban Rodriguez
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Herrero
authors.affiliation: Colgate-Palmolive Technology Center, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Lynette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaidel
authors.affiliation: Bio- and Chemical Systems Technology, Reactor Engineering and Safety Section, Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kristel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bernaerts
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quirynen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Teughels
mesh_terms: D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009909:Oral Health; D056692:Prebiotics; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D056692:Prebiotics
keywords: biofilm; oral health; periodontal diseases; prebiotics; probiotics