Urogenital infections affect millions of people every year worldwide. The treatment of these diseases usually requires the use of antimicrobial agents, and more recently, the use of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cultures for the management of vaginal infections has been extensively studied. In this work, 11 vaginal lactobacilli isolates, previously obtained from healthy patients, were studied to screen microorganisms with probiotic properties against Candida spp. The LAB were tested for their ability of auto-aggregation, coaggregation with C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, and C. tropicalis, adhesion to Caco-2 epithelial cells and production of lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). All lactobacilli isolates tested were able to auto-aggregate (ranging from 25.3% to 75.4% assessed at 4 hours of incubation) and to co-aggregate with the four Candida species into different degrees; among them L. crispatus showed the highest scores of coaggregation. The highest amount of lactic acid was produced by L. salivarius (13.9 g/l), followed by L. johnsonii (6.5 g/l), L. acidophilus (5.5 g/l), and L. jensenii (5.4 g/l). All isolates produced H2O2 , but the highest levels (3 -10 mg/l) were observed for L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. gasseri, L. johnsonii, and L. vaginalis. Only L. agilis, L. jensenii, L. johnsonii and L. ruminus were able to adhere to epithelial Caco-2 cells. Among the isolates evaluated, L agilis, L. jensenii, L. johnsonii, and L. ruminus exhibited simultaneously several desirable properties as potential probiotic strains justifying future studies to evaluate their technological properties in different pharmaceutical preparations for human use.

A identificação das espécies de 52 Enterococcus spp. isolados de amostras de alimentos foi realizada empregando-se duas metodologias: sistema API 20 STREP e PCR multiplex. Os resultados obtidos revelaram que 78,9% dos isolados apresentaram resultados diferentes nos dois testes utilizados. Apenas seis E. faecalis e cinco E. faecium apresentaram resultados concordantes pelos dois métodos. PCR multiplex permitiu a identificação completa de um número significantemente maior de enterococos do que o sistema API 20 STREP.

We evaluated the suitability of API 20 STREP and multiplex PCR to speciate 52 Enterococcus spp. obtained from Brazilian foods. A high percentage of isolates (78.9%) presented discrepant results between evaluated tests. Similar results were obtained for six E. faecalis and five E. faecium. The PCR multiplex was more effective than API 20 STREP for complete identification of the isolates.

H. pylori é o agente da maioria dos casos de gastrites e úlceras pépticas. Entretanto, sua forma de transmissão não foi completamente elucidada. Para avaliar a sobrevivência de H. pylori (uma cepa de referência e uma clínica), artificialmente inoculado em amostras de cenoura e alface, porções de 25g das amostras receberam aproximadamente 10(6) UFC/g de H. pylori, e foram embaladas em atmosfera normal e/ou modificada (3% oxigênio, 10% dióxido de carbono, e 87% nitrogênio). Em seguida, foram armazenadas a 8ºC, com enumeração diária da população de H. pylori em ágar Columbia sangue (CBA) e/ou Helicobacter pylori Special Peptone Agar (HPSPA). Quando usamos CBA com antibióticos, o isolado clínico de H. pylori (HP1) foi detectado por até 72 horas nas amostras de alface e cenoura sanitizadas. Em amostras de cenoura esterilizadas, H. pylori HP1 permaneceu viável por até 96 horas. CBA sem antibióticos permitiu a recuperação de H. pylori ATCC 43629, a partir de amostras de cenoura embaladas em ambas as atmosferas, por até 120 horas. Nossos resultados reforçam que a transmissão de H. pylori, através do consumo de água e alimento contaminados, ainda não pode ser descartado.

Helicobacter pylori is known, worldwide, as the causative agent of gastric diseases. However, its transmission route has not been completely understood. To evaluate the survival of H. pylori (a clinical and a reference strain) artificially inoculated on lettuce and carrot samples, portions of 25 g were inoculated with approximately 10(6) CFU/g of H. pylori and packed under normal and/or modified atmosphere (3% oxygen, 10% carbon dioxide, and 87% nitrogen). The inoculated food samples were stored at 8ºC, with daily enumeration of H. pylori populations on Columbia blood agar (CBA) and/ or Helicobacter pylori Special Peptone Agar (HPSPA). When CBA with antibiotics was used, the clinical isolate H. pylori HP1 was detected for up to 72 h in sanitized lettuce and carrot. In sterilized carrot samples, H. pylori HP1 remained viable for up to 96 h. The CBA without antibiotics allowed the recovery of H. pylori ATCC 43629, from carrot samples stored in both atmospheres tested, for up to 120 hours. Our results reinforce that foodborne transmission of H. pylori cannot be disregarded yet.