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Background: To develop a probiotic formulation for poultry feed, a few poultry gastrointestinal derived lactic acid bacteria (pGIT-d-LAB) were isolated from chicken intestinal specimens and in vitro experiment was performed to evaluate their efficacy as potential probiotic candidate. Methods: A total of 6 strains of LAB: Lactobacillus brevis (L. brevis), Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus), Lactobacillus casei (L. casei), Pediococci spp, Lactobacillus fermentum (L. fermentum) and Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) were isolated and cultured for collection of Cell Free Supernatant (CFS). CFS collected was tested against pathogenic bacterial isolated from chicken feces as well as prevalent fungal pathogens, utilizing agar-well diffusion techniques. A preliminary investigation into the susceptibility of the pathogens to diverse antibiotics and antifungal drugs was conducted. Bacterial pathogens exhibiting resistance to a minimum of three classes of antibiotics were subsequently identified for pGIT-d-LAB CFS screening. Results: The observed results revealed that the CFS derived from the isolates exhibited varying degrees of growth inhibition against different pathogens. Among the tested pGIT-d-LAB isolates, L. acidophilus demonstrated the most prominent zone of inhibition, measuring 18 mm against Klebsiella pneumoniae ZTAC 1233. Notably, Citrobac-ter diversus ZTAC 1255 showed resistance to all tested pGIT-d-LAB. Quantification of the metabolites produced was performed, and peak production levels was determined. L. acidophilus produced the highest amount of lactic acid (1.789g/l), Pediococci spp. produced the highest amount of diacetyl and H2O2 (1.918g/l) (0.0025g/l) at 48 hr peak values respectively. Conclusion: The test isolates are potential probiotic candidates for controlling pathogens in poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The characterisation of 24 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates from Nigerian traditional fermented dairy foods, including some cow''s intestine isolates, was conducted in order to select isolates for potential use as probiotics. LAB isolates were identified by partial sequencing the 16S rRNA gene as belonging to the species Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis and mainly Weissella confusa. At the end of a characterisation process, 2 L. paracasei and 2 W. confusa isolates were selected, and their resistance to a simulated gastrointestinal digestion and their ability to adhere to eukaryotic cell lines were assessed. The survival to the simulated gastrointestinal passage was higher when bacterial suspensions were made in skimmed milk (2.0±0.8 log units reduction) or at the simulated gastric juice pH 3 (2.7±0.9 log units reduction) than at pH 2.0 (5.5±0.7 log units reduction). Adhesion of LAB to both intestinal and vaginal epithelial models was comparable or higher than that of the reference Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. However, some of the isolates increased the adhesion of the pathogen Escherichia coli LMG2092 to HT-29 and HeLa monolayers. Overall, isolates L. paracasei UI14 and W. confusa UI7 are good candidates for further studying potential benefits that support their use as probiotics. This is one of the few articles reporting the characterisation and the probiotic potential of Weissella, although more studies are needed in order to establish their safety for potential probiotic applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gastrointestinal infections are endemic in Nigeria and several factors contribute to their continual survival, including bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Nigerian yogurts do not include probiotics, and limited information is available about the antimicrobial properties of the fermenters in the yogurt against gastrointestinal pathogens. Therefore, the antimicrobial potentials of bacteria in Nigeria-produced yogurts against intestinal pathogens were investigated in this study. Viable counts of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in 15 brands of yogurt were enumerated and the bacteria identified by partial sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. Susceptibility of the gastrointestinal pathogens (Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli ) to antibiotics by disc diffusion method, to viable LAB by the agar overlay method, and to the cell-free culture supernatant (CFCS) of the LAB were investigated. Co-culture analysis of LAB and pathogens were also done. Viable counts of 1.5 × 1011 cfu/ml were observed in some yogurt samples. Two genera were identified: Lactobacillus (70.7%) and Acetobacter (29.3%). The Lactobacillus species reduced multidrug-resistant gastrointestinal pathogens by 4 to 5 log while the zones of inhibition ranged between 11 and 23. The Lactobacillus and Acetobacter strains examined displayed good activities against the multidrug-resistant tested pathogens. This is the first report of antimicrobial activities of acetic acid bacteria isolated from yogurt in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steroid hormones are one of the presumed modulators of Lactobacillus abundance in the vaginal epithelium. We set out to characterize the vaginal microbiome (VMB) and also provide an in-depth understanding of the relative contribution of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P1) in shaping the vaginal microbiome of Nigerian women (n = 38) who experienced both uncomplicated term delivery and preterm delivery using samples longitudinally collected during pregnancy (17–21, 27–31, 36–41 weeks gestation) and 6 weeks postpartum. Vaginal swabs and blood samples were aseptically collected. Vaginal swabs were used for microbiome assessment using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. Blood samples were used for hormonal measurement using a competitive-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Across several maternal covariates, maternal age, pregnancy status and delivery mode were not significantly associated with the vaginal microbiota whereas maternal E2 level (pE2 = 0.006, Omnibus), and P1 level (pP1 = 0.001, Omnibus) were significantly associated with the vaginal microbiome. E2 and P1 concentrations increased throughout pregnancy commensurately with increasing proportions of L. crispatus (pE2 = 0.036, pP1 = 0.034, Linear Mixed Model). An increasing trend of α-diversity was also observed as pregnancy progressed (pobserved ASV = 0.006, LMM). A compositional microbiome shift from Lactobacillus profile to non-Lactobacillus profile was observed in most postnatal women (pCST IV < 0.001, LMM). Analysis of our data shows a species-specific link between pregnancy steroid hormone concentration and L. crispatus abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]