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Over the past decade, there has been increasing evidence highlighting the implication of the gut microbiota in a variety of brain disorders such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Studies have shown that depression affects the stability of gut microbiota, but the impact of antidepressant treatments on microbiota structure and metabolism remains underexplored. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antimicrobial activity of antidepressants from different therapeutic classes against representative strains of human gut microbiota. Six different antidepressants: phenelzine, venlafaxine, desipramine, bupropion, aripiprazole and (S)-citalopram have been tested for their antimicrobial activity against 12 commensal bacterial strains using agar well diffusion, microbroth dilution method, and colony counting. The data revealed an important antimicrobial activity (bacteriostatic or bactericidal) of different antidepressants against the tested strains, with desipramine and aripiprazole being the most inhibitory. Strains affiliating to most dominant phyla of human microbiota such as Akkermansia muciniphila, Bifidobacterium animalis and Bacteroides fragilis were significantly altered, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 75 to 800 μg/mL. A significant reduction in bacterial viability was observed, reaching 5 logs cycle reductions with tested MICs ranged from 400 to 600 μg/mL. Our findings demonstrate that gut microbiota could be altered in response to antidepressant drugs.

Lactobacilli strains are considered as a preventive means for treatment of vaginal infections or post-antibiotic treatment to repopulate the vaginal mucosa. This study aimed at establishing the vaginal lactobacillus profile of Algerian women with different vaginal diseases. Afterwards, lactobacilli isolated from swabs were in vitro characterized for their probiotic hallmarks. This prospective study allowed isolation of 44 Lactobacillus strains and 160 potentially pathogens, among which are Escherichia coli (50 isolates), Staphylococcus sp. (38 isolates), Enterococcus sp. (16 isolates), and Candida sp. (56 isolates). All Lactobacilli strains were characterized for their antagonism, adhesion to polystyrene, and resistance to acidity and bile. Consequently, six Lactobacillus strains (Lb. fermentum 5LB4, 5LB10, 5LB12, Lb. plantarum 5LB2, 5LB11, and Lactobacillus sp. 4LB9) were moderately or weakly adherent, and 35 potentially pathogens exhibited weak to strong adhesion to polystyrene. Antagonism was recorded for 36 Lactobacillus strains towards E. coli 6E2, S. aureus 7S3, Enterococcus sp. 5EN8, and Candida albicans C1 used as indicator organisms. Finally, Lb. fermentum 9LB6, 4LB16, and 10LB1 and Lb. plantarum 9LB4 were remarkable for their inhibitory activity, absence of hemolytic potential, and for their resistance to acidity (pH 1.5) and bile (0.5%) harsh conditions.

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