Many and different pharmaceutical products with probiotic value are presently commercialised on the italian market. On this regard, a microbiological investigation was carried out to screen the microorganisms incorporated into these products, commonly used in animal feeding.

After determination of the cell number and viability of bacteria, different experiments were performed in vitro in order to characterise the microorganisms and to evaluate their probiotic value.

Among all the strains identified, best results were obtained with Enterococcus faecium SF 68 whereas Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus toyoi and Lactobacillus strains appeared less effective as far as concerned our investigation. Moreover, the identification profiles of microorganisms confirmed the presence of Lactobacillus species with a poor probiotic value and in disagreement with the claimed composition of the product.

In defined mixed cultures experiments, the antagonism of E. feacium versus an Enterobacter strain was demonstrated and was attributed to acid and/or antimicrobials production. On the other hand, a strain of L. leichmannii was not able to inhibit the same fecal isolate in similar experiments even at a high inoculum level.

Joise Angelina
Journal of Probiotics and Health
Whasapp no. +3228082557
probiotics@emedicalscience.com