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Analysis of antimicrobial and immunomodulatory substances produced by heterofermentative Lactobacillus reuteri

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Abstract

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory potential of various Lactobacillus reuteri strains is closely connected to their metabolite production profile under given cultivation conditions. We determined the in vitro production of antimicrobial substances such as organic acids, ethanol, and reuterin by four strains of L. reuteri (L. reuteri E, L. reuteri KO5, L. reuteri CCM 3625, and L. reuteri ATCC 55730). All studied L. reuteri strains showed the ability to produce lactic acid, acetic acid, and ethanol with concominant consumption of glucose and together with phenyllactic acid—a potent antifungal compound—with concominant consumption of phenylalanine. The reuterin production from glycerol was confirmed for all analyzed lactobacilli strains except L. reuteri CCM 3625. Production of organic acids, ethanol, and reuterin is significantly involved in antimicrobial activity of lactobacilli which was determined using the dual-culture overlay diffusion method against six indicator bacteria and five indicator moulds. In comparison to the referential L. reuteri ATCC 55730, the highest inhibition potential was observed against Escherichia coli CCM 3988 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 3955. Among analyzed indicators of moulds, the growth of Alternaria alternata CCM F-128 was the most inhibited by all four analyzed L. reuteri strains. Finally, the immunomodulatory potential of analyzed lactobacilli were proven by the determination of the in vitro production of biogenic amines histamine and tyramine. L. reuteri CCM 3625 was able to produce tyramine, and L. reuteri E and L. reuteri KO5 were able to produce histamine under given cultivation conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, VEGA 1/0569/16, by Comenius University grant UK/178/2015, and by Grant of Faculty of Pharmacy FAF/7/2016.

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  1. Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University, Odbojárov 10, 832 32, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Gabriela Greifová, Hyacinta Májeková & Martina Dubničková

  2. Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Department of Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Gabriel Greif, Patrik Body & Maria Greifová

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  1. Gabriela Greifová
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  2. Hyacinta Májeková
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Correspondence to Martina Dubničková.

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Greifová, G., Májeková, H., Greif, G. et al. Analysis of antimicrobial and immunomodulatory substances produced by heterofermentative Lactobacillus reuteri . Folia Microbiol 62, 515–524 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-017-0524-9

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