Use of Lactobacillus crispatus to produce a probiotic cheese as potential gender food for preventing gynaecological infections.

Francesca Patrignani,Diana I Serrazanetti,Carola Parolin,Rosalba Lanciotti,Beatrice Vitali,Lorenzo Siroli,Pratyoosh Shukla

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208906

Francesca Patrignani, Diana I Serrazanetti + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208906

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Jan 9, 2019
Citations: 36	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Bologna

Abstract

This research is aimed to evaluate the suitability of Squacquerone cheese to support the viability of Lactobacillus crispatus BC4, a vaginal strain endowed with a strong antimicrobial activity against urogenital pathogens and foodborne microorganisms, in order to recommend a gender food for woman wellbeing. The viability of L. crispatus BC4, used as adjunct culture, was evaluated during the refrigerated storage of Squacquerone cheese, as well as when the cheese was subjected to simulated stomach-duodenum passage tested by the patented Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME). Moreover, the effects of L. crispatus BC4 addition were evaluated on product hydrolytic patterns, in terms of proteolysis, lipolysis and volatile molecule profiles. The data showed that L. crispatus BC4 maintained high viability, also in presence of physiological stress conditions, until the end of the refrigerated storage. Moreover, the inclusion of L. crispatus BC4 gave rise to cheese product with higher score of overall acceptability when compared to control cheese. In addition, the survival of L. crispatus BC4, carried in test cheese, in gastro intestinal conditions was confirmed by SHIME. The results showed that the vaginal Lactobacillus strain was more affected by the low pH of the stomach, simulated by the SHIME reactor, rather than to bile salts and pancreatic juices. Although only in vivo trials will be able to confirm the functionality of the cheese in the vaginal environment, these data represent a first step towards the employment of the Squacquerone cheese as probiotic food able to promote the woman’s health by preventing gynaecological infections.

Highlights

The demand of the consumers in food production has considerably changed throughout the years
Test Squacquerone cheeses were produced in the pilot-scale plant of a local Italian cheesemaker using L. crispatus BC4 strain as adjunct culture with the starter one of S. thermophilus
According to the morphological and molecular analysis, the most abundant Lactobacillus population was represented by L. crispatus BC4, that was inoculated at a level of 6.8 log CFU/g

Summary

Introduction

The demand of the consumers in food production has considerably changed throughout the years In this time, foods can be perceived to satisfy hunger and to directly contribute to consumer’s health providing necessary nutrients, and preventing nutrition-related diseases and improving the general human well-being [1]. Foods can be perceived to satisfy hunger and to directly contribute to consumer’s health providing necessary nutrients, and preventing nutrition-related diseases and improving the general human well-being [1] In this framework, one of the fastest. Current exciting papers are beginning to underline how foods, with their components and microbial communities and probiotics, modulate the human symbiotic microbes [19,20]

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