Lactobacillus bacteria are usually benign and beneficial, commonly used in probiotics to promote health. They produce lactic acid and are used in food production, including dairy products and fermented foods. They help with digestion and create an acidic environment that suffocates unwanted species. Researchers are constantly discovering more about these bacteria for potential medical applications.
Lactobacillus is a large bacterial genus with a number of interesting applications. Bacteria of this genus are usually benign, and some are actually beneficial, leading people to use them in probiotic preparations designed to promote health. Some common conventional uses of Lactobacillus bacteria include restoring normal intestinal flora after severe infections and treating bacterial vaginosis.
Bacteria of this genus are rod-shaped and can form long chains with each other when they colonize something. They are gram positive and aerobic, requiring air to survive. Lactobacillus bacteria are among a larger classification of bacteria known as lactic acid bacteria because they produce lactic acid as a byproduct when they feed. In the case of Lactobacillus, the bacteria live on sugars, converting them into lactic acid and an assortment of other compounds.
As the term “lacto”, which means “milk”, would seem to suggest, the Lactobacillus bacteria love milk. Some species can cause milk to sour, while others are used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese and sour cream. Lactobacillus acidophilus is a particularly famous species used to produce various cultivated foods. Lactobacillus can also be used in pickles and cultures of other foods and drinks, from beer to sauerkraut. These bacteria are introduced deliberately for the fermentation process.
In addition to loving milk, these bacteria also value the lining of the intestines, where they provide a variety of benefits to their hosts. Lactobacillus bacteria help people break down food, promoting more efficient digestion and ensuring people get the nutritional benefits of the foods they eat. These bacteria also appear to be effective at suffocating unwanted species, because they create an acidic environment that is undesirable for some other bacteria and organisms such as some yeasts. In other words, they’re good neighbors in the gut.
Much is known about Lactobacillus bacteria, because people have used these bacterial helpers in food production for centuries. Several species have been genetically sequenced, and researchers are constantly discovering more about these members of the bacterial world. Food scientists are studying these bacteria to determine how they work and to improve food safety by ensuring that only desirable bacteria are introduced into foods, and members of the medical community are interested in the potential medical applications of Lactobacillus preparations. Microbiologists like to say there’s always more to learn, and that’s definitely the case with these bacteria.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
