U.S. Scientist Hopes To Develop Probiotic Strains To Fight Gut Infections

One of the worst side effects of antibiotic treatments is their tendency to kill beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in the gut. This, in turn, gives destructive bacteria the opportunity to flourish and promote intestinal infections such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Clostridium difficile, an especially durable and destructive variety. A U.S. scientist hopes to identify gut bacteria that inhibit growth of Clostridium difficile and then blend them into an edible probiotic mixture that will treat a variety of intestinal ailments. The scientist is using mini-bioreactors that mimic the stomach to test probiotic mixtures of as many as five bacteria strains.