Abstract: | Different species of lactobacilli, when grown together with salmonellae and shigellae, have been found to inhibit their growth and proliferation. The supernatants of the culture fluids of 8 species of lactobacilli have been shown to contain natural metabolites, other than lactic acid, with a wide spectrum of antibacterial activity with regard to different opportunistic aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. The relationship between the antagonistic activity and the presence of plasmid DNA in a number of the most active antagonistic lactobacilli is discussed. |