Probiotics and biofilms

Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer health benefit on the host. Biofilm is a microbially derived sessile community in which the bacteria are attached to a substratum or interface or to each other and are embedded in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances that they have produced. Probiotics can be used for the treatment of biofilm-forming pathogens in various organ systems of the body. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria have been found to help in the treatment of dental caries. In the gastrointestinal tract, probiotics have been used to treat disorders like antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome wherein by biofilm formation, they alter the pathogenic milieu. For better delivery of the probiotics to the intestine and to prevent degradation by gastric acid, probiotics have been capsulated with chitosan and alginate. Probiotics containing Lactobacillus in combination with antimicrobials have been found to be effective in the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infection and bacterial vaginosis. In nonhealing wound infections caused by biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas, probiotics appear as a promising tool because when topically applied, they helped in the treatment. Recently, novel treatment strategies like coadministration of antibiotics and biofilm inspired encapsulated probiotics have been used to treat chronic wound infections while also avoiding emergence of antimicrobial resistance.