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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Investigating the Effects of Probiotics on Pneumococcal Colonization Using an In Vitro Adherence Assay
Published on: April 28, 2014
The normal faecal microflora does not affect the adhesion of probiotic bacteria in vitro
A C Ouwehand1, P Niemi, S J Salminen
1Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry, University of Turku, Finland. arthur.ouwehand@utu.fi
Abstract:
Adhesion of probiotic microorganisms to the intestinal mucosa is considered important for many of the reported health effects. The influence of the endogenous microflora on the adhesion of four probiotic lactobacilli to immobilised intestinal mucus was investigated. It was observed that pre-treatment of the immobilised mucus with faecal extract slightly increased the adhesion of Lactobacillus GG. Pre-treatment of the immobilised mucus with faecal bacteria did not affect the adhesion of the tested strains. These results suggest that the normal microflora may not greatly affect the initial adhesion of the probiotic bacteria. This validates the results of earlier reports where the influence of the normal microflora was not taken into account.
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