Good adhesion properties of probiotics: a potential risk for bacteremia?

• Published in: FEMS immunology and medical microbiology Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 35 - 39
• Main Authors: Apostolou, Effie, Kirjavainen, Pirkka V., Saxelin, Maija, Rautelin, Hilpi, Valtonen, Ville, Salminen, Seppo J., Ouwehand, Arthur C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2001; Blackwell; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adhesion; Adult; Bacteremia; Bacteremia - microbiology; Bacteria; Bacterial Adhesion; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Blood culture; Culture; Dairy Products - microbiology; Etiology; Feces; Feces - microbiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa - microbiology; Intestine; Lactic acid; Lactic acid bacteria; Lactic acid bacterium; Lactobacillus - isolation & purification; Lactobacillus - physiology; Lactobacillus bacteremia; Lactobacillus rhamnosus; Low level; Microbiology; Mucus; Mucus - microbiology; Probiotic; Probiotics; Probiotics - chemistry; Probiotics - pharmacology; Safety; Species Specificity; Strains (organisms); Yogurt; Probiotic; Mucus; Safety; Lactic acid bacterium; Adhesion; bacteremia
• ISSN: 0928-8244; 1574-695X; 2049-632X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2001.tb01583.x

Abstract The ability to adhere to human intestinal mucus was tested for lactic acid bacteria of clinical blood culture, human fecal and dairy origin. The blood culture isolates were found to adhere better than the dairy strains. Of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains (nine clinical, 10 fecal and three dairy), blood culture isolates adhered better than the fecal strains. Although these results indicate a trend for blood culture isolates to bind to intestinal mucus in higher numbers than strains of dairy and human fecal origin, other factors are also likely to be involved in the etiology of lactobacillemia since some of the clinical Lactobacillus isolates exhibited a relatively low level of adhesion.