UoH Research Suggests L. Johnsonii Isolated From Homemade Curd Can Suppress Intestinal Pathoge
The study, led by Dr Vijay Morampudi of the department of biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, was published on July 10 in Frontiers in Immunology.
Hyderabad:University of Hyderabad (UoH) researchers have found that a strain of Lactobacillus johnsonii, or L. johnsonii, isolated from homemade curd can suppress two intestinal pathogens in laboratory tests and reduce infection-related colon damage in mice, which suggests its possible use as a probiotic alternative alongside efforts to curb antibiotic dependence.
The study, led by Dr Vijay Morampudi of the department of biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, was published on July 10 in Frontiers in Immunology.
The study examined Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, or EPEC, a cause of childhood diarrhoea, and Citrobacter rodentium, a bacterium used to reproduce similar infections in mice.
Researchers found that L. johnsonii survived simulated stomach acid and bile, attached to human intestinal cells and reduced EPEC biofilm formation by about 60 per cent. It also removed more than half of EPEC bacteria that had already attached to the intestinal cell line.
The paper says the findings “support L. johnsonii as a multifunctional probiotic”. Researchers linked its effects to nutrient competition, biofilm disruption and small antimicrobial compounds released by the bacterium.
The work remains preclinical, with no patients studied and the animal experiment used antibiotic-treated female mice. The authors said “additional genomic and safety assessments will be necessary” before wider clinical conclusions, particularly because the isolate resisted kanamycin and gentamicin during testing.
Sai Madhuri Vasamsetti, Yasaswi Khaderbad, Novelina Sarmah, Hari Naga Papa Rao Atham, Pavan Kumar Pondugala and Venkata Ramana Chintalapati co-authored the paper. It is the first research article from Morampudi’s laboratory.
