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Urogenital Lactobacilli Probiotics, Reliability, and Regulatory Issues

Gregor Reid^*,,,, Christian Zalai and Gillian Gardiner^*,1

^* Lawson Health Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Departments of Surgery, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT

Of the hundreds of Lactobacillus so-called probiotic products, only a handful contain identifiable strains that have any published data supporting their usefulness in humans. Of these, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1, Lactobacillus fermentum RC-14, and Lactobacillus fermentum B-54 possess antipathogen properties and colonize the intestine and vagina, conferring health benefits to women. These strains have been found to adhere to vaginal cells, hemagglutinate red blood cells and produce biosurfactants. Taking these or other strains to the marketplace, whether as dairy products or not, requires reliable production and delivery vehicles, and regulatory approval. For this important field to move forward to meet the approval of health care professionals, a better scientific basis for specific strain use in high quality products aimed at welldefined sites is needed. Furthermore, information targeted at, or viewed by, consumers should state the attributes of actual strains in a given product, and reference the peer-reviewed journal in which the work was published.

¹ Present address: Teagasc, Barley Products Research Center, Moorepark, Fermoy, Country Cork, Ireland.

Corresponding author: G. Reid; e-mail: gregor{at} uwo.ca.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Reid, J. Jass, M. T. Sebulsky, and J. K. McCormick Potential Uses of Probiotics in Clinical Practice Clin. Microbiol. Rev., October 1, 2003; 16(4): 658 - 672. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G Reid and A W Bruce Urogenital infections in women: can probiotics help? Postgrad. Med. J., August 1, 2003; 79(934): 428 - 432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]