User:Jj1imagilin/Pediococcus acidilactici

Pediococcus acidilactici
Pediococcus acidilactici is a gram positive cocci that are often found in pairs or tetrads.Pediococcus acidilactici is a homo-fermentative bacterium that can grow in a wide range of pH, temperature and osmotic pressure, therefore being able to colonize the digestive tract. Pediococcus acidilactici has emerged as a potential probiotic that has shown promising results in animal and human experiments, though some of the results are limited. They are commonly found in fermented vegetables, fermented dairy products and meat.

Pediococcus acidilactici are facultative anaerobes that grow well on MRS (deMann, Rogosa, Sharpe) agar of an optimum pH of 6.2, with an overnight incubation at 37 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius. They are also viable at higher temperatures of up to 65 degrees centigrade.

Pediococcus acidilactici are also acidophilic bacteria which are viable at very low pH. The probiotic, Pediococcus acidilactici is a facultative anaerobe with lesser sensitivity to oxygen. Pediococci exert antagonism against other microorganisms, including enteric pathogens, primarily through the production of lactic acid and secretion of bacteriocins known as pediocins.

Potential Benefits
Pediococcus acidilactici has a wide range of potential benefits of which are still being studied. Though it is being used as probiotic supplements in treating constipation, diarrhea, relieving stress, enhancing immune response among birds and small animals, human trials are still limited. Pediococcus acidilactici is also known to prevent colonization of the small intestine by pathogens like Shigella, Salmonella, Clostridium difficile and Escherichia coli among small animals.

Digestive Disorders
Pediococcus acidilactici have been used to treat dogs with digestive disorders and also those dogs which were infected by Parvovirus. Prior to treatment with orally administered mixtures of Pediococcus acidilactici and Saccharomyces boulardii the dogs diagnosed with parvovirus infection were shown to exhibit severe gastro-intestinal distress such as vomiting and bloody diarrhea. After the treatment for three days, the bloody diarrhea ceased and the dogs had solid stools.

Alternative Medicines
Pediococcus acidilactici has not been stated in any literature to have toxic effects. Another potential benefit of using them as Probiotics is their use as alternative medicines against infectious parasitic pathogens like Eimeria in broiler-chicken. Pediococcus acidilactici in conjunction with Saccharomyces boulardii stimulates humoral immune response to produce higher Eimeria-specific antibody levels while also reducing the number of oocysts shed by possible competitive inhibition and pediocin production which inhibit pathogenic bacteria and other gram-positive spoilage

Immune Health Benefits
Pediococcus acidilactici can function as immune modulators. Animals fed with P. acidilactici have shown enhanced immune responses against infectious coccidioidal diseases.

Antibiotic Treatment
Dogs typically undergo antibiotic treatment to eliminate infectious pathogens or parasites and to prevent secondary infections. However, the treatment of antibiotics can also disrupt the ecosystems of beneficial microorganisms in dog’s gastrointestinal (GI) tracts. When dogs with digestive disorders were treated by antibiotics together with Pediococcus acidilactici probiotic products, the surviving millions of Pediococcus product are able to alleviate the disruptive balance of microorganisms in dogs’ GI tracts caused by antibiotics treatment and to normalize the intestinal microflora. .

Moreover, since antibiotics kill many of competitive pathogenic microorganisms, Pediococcus product can have better beneficial effects in dogs and cats GI tracts when administered together with antibiotics.

Difference from other Probiotic Strains
Most strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are sensitive to room temperature, which raises concerns for storage conditions and maintenance of cell viability. In addition, most Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are sensitive to acidic exposure and have difficulty in surviving environments with low pH, such as of stomach acid

. Therefore, obtaining consistent and reproducible results becomes the major challenge for the commercial products of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.