Human Breast Milk: A Source of Potential Probiotic Candidates

Abstract

This study focuses on the isolation of lactobacilli/bifidobacteria from human breast milk and their first characterization, in the perspective to find new probiotic candidates to be included in food products. More specifically, breast-milk-isolated strains demonstrated a very good aptitude to adhere to intestinal cells, in comparison with L. rhamnosus GG strain, taken as reference. The same behavior has been found for hydrophobicity/auto-aggregation properties. A remarkable antagonistic activity was detected for these isolates not only against spoilage and pathogenic species of food interest, but also against the principal etiological agents of intestinal infections. Indeed, isolated strains impaired spoilage and pathogenic species growth, as well as biofilm formation by gut pathogens. In addition, breast milk strains were characterized for their antibiotic susceptibility, displaying species-specific and strain-specific susceptibility patterns. Finally, to assess their technological potential, the fermentation kinetics and viability of breast milk strains in pasteurized milk were investigated, also including the study of the volatile molecule profiles. In this regard, all the strains pointed out the release of aroma compounds frequently associated with the sensory quality of several dairy products such as acetic acid, diacetyl, acetoin, acetaldehyde. Data here reported point up the high potential of breast-milk-isolated strains as probiotics.

Identification of <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Bifidobacterium</i> 16S rRNA Gene in Breast Milk of Some Healthy Women in Kinshasa (DR Congo)

“…The breast milk samples were treated to remove fat and 1 mL of the samples was centrifuged at 7150 g for 20 minutes [10]. Then total DNA was isolated from the pellets using GENEJET GENOMIC DNA PURIFICATION KIT® (Thermo Scientific).…”

“…Studies have shown that Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are among the recurring bacteria [10] [11]. The presence of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus is stable over time among individuals but varies widely within populations and between countries [12].…”

Limosilactobacillus vaginalis Exerts Bifidogenic Effects: A Novel Postbiotic Strategy for Infant Prebiotic Supplementation

“…Escherichia coli SO107 and Streptococcus agalactiae SO104 were isolated at Sant'Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna (Italy) during routine diagnostic procedures [18,19]. Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), Salmonella enterica, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Enterococcus faecium BC105 belong to the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of University of Bologna [19,20]. These strains were aerobically grown at 37 • C in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI, Difco).…”