Abstract
The gut microbiome is considered as a promising target for future non-conventional therapeutic treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases. The search for appropriate safe and beneficial (lactic acid bacterial and other) putative probiotic strains and/or their antimicrobial metabolites represents a challenging approach for combating several problematic and emerging infections. The process of selecting suitable strains, especially of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with superior properties, has been accelerated and intensified during the past two decades, also thanks to recent developments in lab techniques. Currently, special focus is on the potential of antimicrobial metabolites produced by some LAB strains and their application as active therapeutic agents. The vision is to develop a scientific basis for ‘biotherapeutics’ as alternative to conventional approaches in both human and veterinary medicine. Consequently, innovative and promising applications of LAB to the therapeutic practice are presently emerging. An overview of the existing literature indicates that some antimicrobial metabolites such as bacteriocins, widely produced by different bacterial species including LAB, are promising biotherapeutic agents for controlling infections caused by potential pathogens, such as Clostridium and Clostridiodes. Non-conventional, safe and well designed therapeutic treatments may contribute to the improvement of gut dysbiotic conditions. Thereby gut homeostasis can be restored and inflammatory conditions such as gastrointestinal colitis ameliorated. Combining the knowledge on the production, characterization and application of bacteriocins from probiotic LAB, together with their antibacterial properties, appears to be a promising and novel approach in biotherapy. In this overview, different scenarios for the control of Clostridium spp. by application of bacteriocins as therapeutic agents, also in synergistic combination with antibiotics, will be discussed.
Highlights
Since early human history the beneficial influence of fermented foods on the human gut has been appreciated; numerous ancient societies and cultures have consumed fermented foods such as yogurt as a therapy for treatment of diarrhea and other adverse gut conditions (Holzapfel, 2006)
The development of microbiology as a discipline during the second half of the 19th century soon revealed the beneficial association of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as a major microbial group associated with fermented foods
This era has provided a scientific foundation for bacteriotherapy which has probably been pioneered by Döderlein (1892) when he reported on a vaginal Gram-positive “bacillus” with antagonistic activity against staphylococci, suggesting lactic acid as underlying basis of this antagonism
Summary
Since early human history the beneficial influence of fermented foods on the human gut has been appreciated; numerous ancient societies and cultures have consumed fermented foods such as yogurt as a therapy for treatment of diarrhea and other adverse gut conditions (Holzapfel, 2006). In particular the search for functional LAB strains with potential application in human and veterinary medicine, in combination with the production of beneficial (anti-pathogenic) bacteriocins and probiotic characteristics, is actively being pursued. It should be acknowledged that traditional medicine has recommended the application of some products resulting from (LAB associated) food fermentation processes as alternatives in the treatment of some diseases Such practices are well known for the Maasai tribe of East Africa where the consumption of the traditional fermented milk product ‘kule naoto’ is considered to have therapeutic value for curing of and/or protection against ailments such as diarrhea and constipation (Mathara et al, 2004). It appears that they promote favorable changes in the host without major disturbance in the gut microbiota, important for the maintenance of the normal functional properties and gut homeostasis (Umu et al, 2016)
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