BACKGROUND Probiotics have previously been shown to reduce the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants and children. OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of two probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacteria lactis) on established AD in children. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Atopic children with current dermatitis received 2 x 10(10) colony forming units/g of probiotic (n=29) or placebo (n...

a 1st Cardiology Department, Hippokration Hospital, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece b Microbiology Department, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece c Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece d Department of Cardiac Surgery, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece e Department of Microbiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University o...

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are non-protein neurotoxins produced by saltwater dinoflagellates and freshwater cyanobacteria. The ability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains GG and LC-705 (in viable and non-viable forms) to remove PSTs (saxitoxin (STX), neosaxitoxin (neoSTX), gonyautoxins 2 and 3 (GTX2/3), C-toxins 1 and 2 (C1/2)) from neutral and acidic solution (pH 7.3 and 2) was examined ...

A number of clinical studies have shown protective effects of lactobacilli against Candida species in the gastrointestinal tract, the urogenital tract and the oral cavity, while others did not show clear effects. Evidence on the mode of action of lactobacilli against Candida is also still lacking. In this study, the anti-Candida activity of the model probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ...

Lactobacillus rhamnosus PL60 was tested for whether it can produce c9,t11- and t10,c12-conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) in human. After consumption of L. rhamnosus PL60, L. rhamnosus was detected in feces 1 week after the start of intake. Analysis by gas chromatography showed that concentrations of c9,t11- and t10,c12-CLAs in serum had increased and concentrations of serum leptin had significan...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the leading cause of death from gastrointestinal disease in premature infants and develops partly from an exaggerated intestinal epithelial immune response to indigenous microbes. There has been interest in administering probiotic bacteria to reduce NEC severity, yet concerns exist regarding infection risk. Mechanisms of probiotic activity in NEC are unknown a...

The exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis gene clusters of four Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains consist of chromosomal DNA regions of 18.5 kb encoding 17 ORFs that are highly similar among the strains. However, under identical conditions, EPS production varies considerably among these strains, from 61 to 1611 mg l(-1). Fifteen genes are co-transcribed starting from the first promoter upstream of...

In this review, we are listing Lactobacillus phages that have been reported in peer-reviewed articles published since 1960. Putative phages that are defective or have not been shown to be infectious, such as phage-like particles, are not discussed. Our literature searches led to the identification of 231 Lactobacillus phages, 186 of which have been observed by electron microscopy, with 109 belo...

Normal-gravity (22 to 24 degrees Plato) wheat mashes were inoculated with five industrially important strains of lactobacilli at approximately 10(5), approximately 10(6), approximately 10(7), approximately 10(8), and approximately 10(9) CFU/ml in order to study the effects of the lactobacilli on yeast growth and ethanol productivity. Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacill...