View article

The search for Lactobacilli of African origin with probiotic properties formed the basis of the study. Two hundred and forty one premenopausal healthy (as defined by having no symptoms of vaginal infections and are HIV negative) Nigerian women provided vaginal swabs. The swabs were cultured on de Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) agar (pH 5.5) and incubated anaerobically at 37°C for 48 h. Microbial DNA was extracted from the colonies and directly from the swabs, amplified using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with Lactobacillus primers and processed by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE). DGGE bands were excised, re-amplified, purified, V2-V3 region of 16S rRNA gene sequenced with 3730xl ABI prism BigDye Terminator and sequence identification was by BLAST. Lactobacillus strains were tested for probiotic properties (H₂O₂, Pathogen inhibition and Biosurfactant production). Out of …