Toxicological Research  2013;29(2):99-106

In Vitro Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Lactic Acid Bacteria against Clostridium difficile.

Joong Su LEE 1 ; Myung Jun CHUNG ; Jae Gu SEO

Affiliations

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Keywords

Clostridium difficile infection; lactic acid bacteria; antimicrobial activity; cell-free supernatant

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has become a significant threat to public health. Although broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy is the primary treatment option for CDI, its use has evident limitations. Probiotics have been proved to be effective in the treatment of CDI and are a promising therapeutic option for CDI. In this study, 4 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), namely, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LR5), Lactococ-cuslactis (SL3), Bifidobacterium breve (BR3), and Bifidobacterium lactis (BL3) were evaluated for their anti-C. difficile activity. Co-culture incubation of C. difficile (106 and 1010 CFU/ml) with each strain of LAB indicated that SL3 possessed the highest antimicrobial activity over a 24-hr period. The cell-free supernatants of the 4 LAB strains exhibited MIC50 values between 0.424 mg/ml (SL3) and 1.318 (BR3) mg/ml. These results may provide a basis for alternative therapies for the treatment of C. difficile-associated gut disorders.