Use of continuous culture to study the gastric microflora of a hypochlorhydric patient

A method of maintaining the microflora obtained from the hypochlorhydric stomach of a patient suffering from hypogammaglobulinaemia has been developed using continuous culture (chemostat) techniques. The culture was maintained at pH 8.0 (the pH of the original gastric juice) and subsequently at pH 7.0 and pH 6.0. Throughout the experiment the total population of the culture remained constant, although the populations of individual bacterial strains varied. Two enzyme parameters, nitrate reductase and beta-glycosidase, were also measured. Optimal enzyme activity was observed at pH 7.0. The results suggest that at the physiological pH values found in hypochlorhydric patients, the gastric flora may play a role in the generation of genotoxins and/or their precursors.