Prebiotics Decrease the Antibacterial Effect of Nano Silver and Nano TiO 2 Particles Against Probiotic Bacteria of Food

Abstract

Probiotics have been defined as "living microorganisms, which upon ingestion exert health benefits beyond inherent general nutrition". Prebiotics are defined as short-chain carbohydrates, which are not digested by enzymes in the digestive system, which selectively stimulate the growth and activities of specific bacteria in the gut. Nano particles Ag and TiO2 have been shown to have wide applications in medicine and food industry. We investigated the antimicrobial activity of Ag and TiO2 nano particles on three species of Lactobacillus i.e. L. casei ATCC 39392, L. plantarum ATCC 8014 and L. fermentum ATCC 9338 in the presence and absence of Raffinose, Lactulose and Inulin, respectively. Result showed that nano silver particles decreased 85{%}, 85{%} and 71{%} of L. casei, L. plantarum and L. fermentum respectively after 48 hour and decreased percentages of L. casei, L. plantarum and L. fermentum that were 16{%}, 64{%} and 4{%} in the presence of the prebiotics and nano TiO2 particles decreased 59{%}, 85{%} and 61{%} number of L. casei, L. plantarum and L. fermentum, respectively after 48 h and decreased percentages of L. casei, L. plantarum and L. fermentum were 16{%} and 2{%} and 4{%} in the presence of these prebiotics. {©} 2014 Bentham Science Publishers.