[31] Biosurfactants produced by Lactobacillus

Lactobacillus bacterial species have been shown to be important in the maintenance of a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota in men and women and to help protect against urogenital infections in women. The critical components of importance in antagonizing pathogenic bacteria include an ability of the lactobacilli to adhere to surfaces, inhibit attachment and growth of the pathogens, resist spermicidal killing, and coaggregate with other members of the microbiota to produce a balanced microbial niche. Strains of lactobacilli were found to produce a biosurfactants collectively termed surlactin, characterized by the ability to reduce liquid surface tension, as measured by the axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) and by the ability to inhibit the adhesion of enterococci and other uropathogens to polymer surfaces. The intriguing part about the surlactin is its potential importance in helping to regulate the microbiota of the urogenital tract, making it potentially a critical factor in health maintenance of a balanced microbiota. This chapter describes the methods used to identify biosurfactants. Expected results and clinical relevance has also been discussed.