Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Assessment for its Antiviral Effect Against Herpes Simplex Virus Type I

Reza Ranjbar¹, Mehdi Moazzami Goudarzi^2٭ and Nematollah Jounaidi³

¹Molecular biology research center, Baqiyatallah University of medical science, Tehran, Iran.

²Department of Microbiology, Boroujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran.

³Health Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of medical science, Tehran, Iran

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/1791

ABSTRACT: The prevalence of diverse genital infections among women and their increasing resistance to antibiotics has motivated researchers to study the use of probiotics to prevent and treat them. Samples of vaginal discharge were collected from healthy married women. The types of lactobacilli present were identified by biochemical and molecular testing. The antiviral properties of a culture supernatant of wild species or strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 on the standard strain of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was evaluated. L. acidophilus culture supernatant significantly decreased the amount of plaque produced by HSV- 1 on cells. Similar results were obtained for the standard strain. The inhibitory effect of the wild L. acidophilus did not require the production of H₂O₂ or H⁺ ions of the standard strain or an acidic environment. L. acidophilus was able to control HSV-1 without producing H₂O₂ or H⁺ ions or acidifying the environment. The inhibitory property of virus is most likely related to production of active metabolites.

KEYWORDS: lactobacillus acidophilus; herpes simplex virus

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