Anticandidal activities of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the vagina

Abstract

Background/aim: Lactic acid bacteria prevent the overgrowth of pathogenic agents and opportunistic pathogens in the vagina.Moreover, lactic acid bacteria contribute to the preservation of vaginal microbiota by producing antimicrobial agents. Previous studiesshowed that some lactic acid bacteria exhibited antimicrobial activity against Candida species causing yeast vaginosis as well as manybacterial pathogens.Materials and methods: The antifungal activities of various lactic acid bacteria isolated from the vagina of healthy women on someCandida species isolated from the vagina were investigated by agar diffusion technique.Results: Most of the lactic acid bacteria that belong to the species of Lactobacillus crispatus, L. fermentum, L. acidophilus, L. paraceseisubsp. paracesei, L. pentosus, and L. plantarum exhibited antifungal activity in varying ratios against C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C.tropicalis strains isolated from the vagina.Conclusion: The lactic acid bacteria are useful microorganisms associated with a variety of probiotic properties. In this sense, our lacticacid bacteria isolates with high antifungal activity may be promising candidates as probiotic microorganisms in the inhibition of vaginalcandidiasis, which is one of the most prevalent problems, or in the protection against candidiasis. We will continue our studies in thisarea.