The Effect of Commercial Probiotics on the Phytoplankton Diversity Associated with Biofloc

The intensive aquaculture industry faces two main problems, first, the decrease in the water quality caused by high concentrations of metabolites, and second, the use of low natural food in aquaculture activities with high water exchange intensity. For this reason, efforts are needed to develop biofloc to maximize the contribution of natural food which can increase aquaculture production. The present study aimed to analyze the effect of commercial probiotics on the differences in the phytoplankton diversity associated with biofloc. The fish were divided into three treatment groups. Treatment A involved biofloc formation without using probiotics, treatment B contained biofloc formation using commercial probiotics (Bacillus spp., lactic acid, Lactobacillus spp., Saccharomyces spp. 50/50 feed), and treatment C entailed biofloc formation using commercial probiotics (containing a native microbial consortium, 50/50 feed). The treatment groups were repeated six times so that there were 18 experimental units. The research was conducted from March to April 2015. The results indicated that the administration of probiotics with different types led to insignificant differences among the treatment groups. The highest diversity index value occurred in treatment C on day 34 of the experiment that was equal to 0.49. On the other hand, the highest value of the dominance index (C = 0.99) occurred in treatments A and B on day 21. It can be concluded that the addition of probiotics with different biofloc could result in insignificant phytoplankton diversity. Furthermore, the Nitrogen/Phosphorus (N/P) ratio as a limiting factor for phytoplankton growth indicated different results in each treatment.

Effects of Probiotics on Growth, Survival, Water Quality and Disease Resistance of Red Hybrid Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) Fingerlings in a Biofloc System

Biofloc technology has shown positive effects in aquaculture, especially on the growth performance of cultured animals. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of adding different probiotic strains in a biofloc system on the growth performance and disease resistance of red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis spp.). Three different probiotics (Lysinibacillus fusiformis SPS11, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens L9, and Enterococcus hirae LAB3), commercial probiotics (MG1) and a mixed probiotics (MP) combining all three strains were used in this study. The in vitro assay results showed that the mixed probiotic (MP) was able to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus iniae significantly compared to the single and commercial probiotic. The efficacy of MP was further tested in in vivo tilapia culture challenged with S. agalactiae. The best specific growth rate (3.73 ± 0.23% day−1) and feed conversion ratio (0.76 ± 0.04) were recorded in the group of biofloc with addition of MP. After being challenged with S. agalactiae, the group of biofloc with MP had significantly higher survival (83 ± 1.43%) compared to the other groups. Furthermore, the nitrogen concentration (NO2-N and NH4-N) was significantly lower in all the biofloc groups compared to the control. Hence, the addition of probiotics was able to provide beneficial effects to red hybrid tilapia culture in the biofloc system.

Cholesterol-lowering Potential and Exopolysaccharide Biosynthesis of Lactobacillus spp. isolated from Human Milk

Recent research generated information that human milk is not only a valuable source of nutrition, but it also provides a complex microbial community, containing especially Lactobacillus species - the major components of a great number of commercial probiotics. New findings on potential applications of Lactobacillus species revealed that these bacteria have abilities to produce anti-microbial exopolysaccharides (EPS) and to reduce cholesterol in culture broth. In this study, we successfully isolated and screened for Lactobacillus bacteria from human milk samples, and finally obtained four strains, including L. plantarum BM7.13, L. plantarum BM29.7, L. acidophilus BM10.8 and L. rhamnosus BM30.4. Researching the probiotic activities of these strains showed that all strains were tolerant to the low pH (3.0) and 0.3% bile salts. Characterization of the probiotic properties indicated that all selected Lactobacillus isolates had ESP (125-326 mg/L) and exhibited strong antimicrobial activities against pathogenic microbes, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri and Salmonella typhimurium. Our results also indicated that all strains displayed cholesterol assimilation capabilities in culture broth with the maximum figure recorded for L. plantarum BM7.13.

Shelf Life and Simulated Gastrointestinal Tract Survival of Selected Commercial Probiotics During a Simulated Round-Trip Journey to Mars

To enhance the gastrointestinal health of astronauts, probiotic microorganisms are being considered for inclusion on long-duration human missions to the Moon and Mars. Here we tested three commercial probiotics—Bifidobacterium longum strain BB536, Lactobacillus acidophilus strain DDS-1, and spores of Bacillus subtilis strain HU58—for their survival to some of the conditions expected to be encountered during a 3-year, round trip voyage to Mars. All probiotics were supplied as freeze-dried cells in capsules at a titer of >109 colony forming units per capsule. Parameters tested were survival to: (i) long-term storage at ambient conditions, (ii) simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation and Solar Particle Event radiation provided by the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, (iii) exposure to simulated gastric fluid, and (iv) exposure to simulated intestinal fluid. We found that radiation exposure produced minimal effects on the probiotic strains. However, we found that that the shelf-lives of the three strains, and their survival during passage through simulations of the upper GI tract, differed dramatically. We observed that only spores of B. subtilis were capable of surviving all conditions and maintaining a titer of >109 spores per capsule. The results indicate that probiotics consisting of bacterial spores could be a viable option for long-duration human space travel.

Probiotic Properties, Prebiotic Fermentability, and GABA-Producing Capacity of Microorganisms Isolated from Mexican Milk Kefir Grains: A Clustering Evaluation for Functional Dairy Food Applications

Isolation and functional characterization of microorganisms are relevant steps for generating starter cultures with functional properties, and more recently, those related to improving mental health. Milk kefir grains have been recently investigated as a source of health-related strains. This study focused on the evaluation of microorganisms from artisanal Mexican milk kefir grains regarding probiotic properties, in vitro fermentability with commercial prebiotics (lactulose, inulin, and citrus pectin), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing capacity. Microorganisms were identified belonging to genera Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, and Kluyveromyces. The probiotic properties were assessed by aggregation abilities, antimicrobial activity, antibiotic susceptibility, and resistance to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, showing a good performance compared with commercial probiotics. Most of isolates maintained a concentration above 6 log colony forming units/mL after the intestinal phase. Specific isolates of Kluyveromyces (BIOTEC009 and BIOTEC010), Leuconostoc (BIOTEC011 and BIOTEC012), and Lactobacillus (BIOTEC014 and BIOTEC15) showed a high fermentability in media supplemented with commercial prebiotics. The capacity to produce GABA was classified as medium for L. lactis BIOTEC006, BIOTEC007, and BIOTEC008; K. lactis BIOTEC009; L. pseudomesenteroides BIOTEC012; and L. kefiri BIOTEC014, and comparable to that obtained for commercial probiotics. Finally, a multivariate approach was performed, allowing the grouping of 2–5 clusters of microorganisms that could be further considered new promising cultures for functional dairy food applications.

Gut Dysbiosis during COVID-19 and Potential Effect of Probiotics

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), an RNA virus of the family Coronaviridae, causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an influenza-like disease that chiefly infects the lungs through respiratory transmission. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, a transmembrane protein in its outer portion, targets angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the binding receptor for the cell entry. As ACE2 is highly expressed in the gut and pulmonary tissues, SARS-CoV-2 infections frequently result in gastrointestinal inflammation, with presentations ordinarily ranging from intestinal cramps to complications with intestinal perforations. However, the evidence detailing successful therapy for gastrointestinal involvement in COVID-19 patients is currently limited. A significant change in fecal microbiomes, namely dysbiosis, was characterized by the enrichment of opportunistic pathogens and the depletion of beneficial commensals and their crucial association to COVID-19 severity has been evidenced. Oral probiotics had been evidenced to improve gut health in achieving homeostasis by exhibiting their antiviral effects via the gut–lung axis. Although numerous commercial probiotics have been effective against coronavirus, their efficacies in treating COVID-19 patients remain debated. In ClinicalTrials.gov, 19 clinical trials regarding the dietary supplement of probiotics, in terms of Lactobacillus and mixtures of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus, for treating COVID-19 cases are ongoing. Accordingly, the preventive or therapeutic role of probiotics for COVID-19 patients can be elucidated in the near future.

The Effect of Biofloc with the Addition of Different Commercial Probiotics in Catfish (Clarias sp.)

Catfish was one of the most popular consumption fish in Indonesia. Increasing the production of catfish farming by means of super intensive cultivation has a negative impact on the quality of the aquaculture environment which in turn can have an impact on fish health. Biofloc technology was an alternative that can be done to solve the problem of aquaculture waste. In fact, it could provide more benefits because besides being able to reduce inorganic nitrogen waste also provide additional feed for cultured fish so that it can increase growth and feed efficiency. This study aims to evaluate the growth performance of catfish (Clariassp.) In biofloc-based super intensive cultivation with the addition of different commercial probiotics. This research will be conducted for 5 months. The research was conducted in an aquarium in the form of an aquarium measuring 90 × 40 × 50 cm filled with 100 L. The treatment given was the addition of commercial probiotics in the culture medium with the biofloc system and fermented pellet feed with various commercial probiotics, namely commercial probiotic I, commercial probiotic II. , commercial probiotic III, positive control (biofloc culture media and without the addition of commercial probiotics), and negative control (without biofloc). Each treatment was repeated three times. Specific data growth, survival (SR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and quality were statistical analysis with one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that the best growth performance of catfish using the biofloc culture system produced in this study was shown in PK3 treatment with a survival rate of 93.33%, a specific growth rate of 6.60, and a feed conversion ratio of 0.92.