Effect of excess amino acids on growth of certain lactobacilli.

Rat growth repression caused by the presence in the diet of an unusually high concentration of certain individual amino acids has been reported (Hier et al., 1944; Graham et at., 1950; Niven et al., 1946; Martin, 1947; Van Pilsutm and Berg, 1950; Wretlind and Rose, 1950; Russel et al., 1952). It has been suggested that such repression may be due to amino acid imbalance (Hier et al., 1944) or that it may be a characteristic property of the specific amino acid (Russell et al., 1952). Repressions of bacterial growth caused by excess individual amino acids also have been reported. For example, it has been shown that D-leucine and D-valine are inhibitory to Lactobacillus arabinotus (Fox et at., 1944; Fling and Fox, 1945) and to Escherichia coli (Kobayashi et al., 1949). D-Leucine also has been shown to inhibit the growth of Salmoneila typhimurium and Shigella dyenteriae (Nicolle, 1950). D-Phenylalanine and D-methionine have been found inhibitory to Bruceta abortus (Yaw and Kakavas, 1952). This report presents additional similar information for four different lactobacilli and and fifteen amino acids.