In vitro assessment of histamine and lactate production by a multi-strain synbiotic

Gerrit Stuivenberg,Polycronis Akouris,Gregor Reid,Brendan Daisley

doi:10.1007/s13197-021-05327-7

Gerrit Stuivenberg, Polycronis Akouris + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-021-05327-7

Copy DOI

Abstract

Recent studies suggest histamine and d-lactate may negatively impact host health. As excess histamine is deleterious to the host, the identification of bacterial producers has contributed to concerns over the consumption of probiotics or live microorganisms in fermented food items. Some probiotic products have been suspected of inducing d-lactic-acidosis; an illness associated with neurocognitive symptoms such as ataxia. The goals of the present study were to test the in vitro production of histamine and d-lactate by a 24-strain daily synbiotic and to outline methods that others can use to test for their production. Using enzymatic based assays, no significant production of histamine was observed compared to controls (P > 0.05), while d-lactate production was comparable to a commercially available probiotic with no associated health risk. These assays provide a means to add to the safety profile of synbiotic and probiotic products.

Highlights

Probiotics are defined as ‘live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host’ (Hill et al 2014)
As excess histamine is deleterious to the host, the identification of bacterial producers has contributed to concerns over the consumption of probiotics or live microorganisms in fermented food items
This study showed that histamine production by Seed synbiotic was undetectable despite containing a L. reuteri strain, which at a species level has been reported to produce histamine (Hemarajata et al 2013)

Summary

Introduction

Probiotics are defined as ‘live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host’ (Hill et al 2014) Since these organisms are alive at the time of administration, there is the potential to cause infection or to produce compounds that may be harmful to the host (Sanders et al 2010). A deficiency in regulatory monitoring has resulted in the inappropriate labelling of some commercial probiotics, including species and strain designation (de Simone 2019). This is disconcerting because the health promoting effects of probiotics are strain-specific (Hill et al 2014) and depend on the disease state of the recipient (McFarland et al 2018). Well-studied compounds like histamine and D-lactate, produced by various probiotic microorganisms (de Simone 2019; Maintz and Novak 2007; Morrow et al 1991), have the potential to negatively impact host health (Fig. 1)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion