Probiotics for Food Poisoning

The past few months have seen several food poisoning outbreaks across the United States, including the discovery of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in California-grown spinach, the Norovirus outbreak in oysters harvested off the coast of Texas and the Salmonella found in peanut butter manufactured in North Carolina. Amid these scares, a new study reports that probiotics may help prevent food poisoning.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria (sometimes called "friendly germs") that help maintain the health of the intestinal tract and aid in digestion. They also help keep potentially harmful organisms in the gut (harmful bacteria and yeasts) under control. Most probiotics come from food sources, especially cultured milk products. Probiotics can be consumed as capsules, tablets, beverages, powders, yogurts and other foods.

Probiotics are thought to be beneficial in two ways. First, probiotics reinforce the integrity of the intestinal lining as a protective barrier to prevent harmful organisms or materials from crossing into the body's bloodstream. Second, some probiotics have been found to secrete antimicrobial substances known as "bacteriocins," which inhibit harmful bacteria.

Researchers from University College in Cork, Ireland explained that Salmonella spp. infection is a major cause of gastroenteritis, with many thousands of cases reported in the European Union every year. The use of probiotics may potentially improve this situation.

The study investigated the effects of oral treatment of pigs with a defined lactic acid bacteria culture mixture on both clinical and microbiological signs of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection. Fifteen weaned pigs blocked by sex and weight were administered control milk or a mixture of five probiotic strains as either a milk fermentate or milk suspension for a total of 30 days. The mixture consisted of two strains of Lactobacillus murinus and one strain each of Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius, Lactobacillus pentosus and Pediococcus pentosaceous.

Following probiotic administration for six days, animals were challenged orally with serovar Typhimurium. The health of the animals and the microbiological composition of their feces were monitored for 23 days post-infection.

The study found that animals treated with probiotics showed reduced incidence, severity and duration of diarrhea. These animals also gained weight at a greater rate than control pigs administered skim milk. Mean fecal numbers of Salmonella were significantly reduced in probiotic-treated animals at 15 days post-infection.

Researchers concluded that the administration of probiotic bacteria improved both the clinical and microbiological outcome of Salmonella infection. These strains offer significant benefit for use in the food industry and may have potential in human applications.