Antibacterial Potentials of Probiotics; an Explorable Approach in Therapeutic Microbiology?

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences,2012,2,2,346-351.
Published:May 2012
Type:Review Article
Authors:
Author(s) affiliations:

Adagbada Ajoke O1 Adesida Solayide A2, Coker Akitoye O1

1Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

2Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.

Abstract:

Over the years, probiotics have been shown to have antibacterial potentials through various studies being carried out and thus can be introduced in the course of treatment for bacterial infections. Probiotics act through competitive inhibition, direct antagonism of pathogens and production of antimicrobial factors, they deprive invaders of nutrients, secrete acids that pathogens cannot tolerate and modulate the immune system. Patho-biotechnology has contributed to probiotic application by adopting processes that improve their physiological stress tolerance and increase the resistance of the probiotic strains to industrial processing so as to ensure gastrointestinal transit in numbers adequate enough to elicit a defined benefit to the host. Given the potential antibacterial properties of probiotics, coupled with the fact that in comparison to conventional therapeutics they are relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, transport and store, they may herald a new era in clinical microbiology, especially for the developing world.

Antibacterial potentials of probiotics