Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Oct 7;12(37):5987-94.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i37.5987.

Effects of probiotic bacteria on gastrointestinal motility in guinea-pig isolated tissue

Matteo Massi  1 , Pierfranco Ioan, Roberta Budriesi, Alberto Chiarini, Beatrice Vitali, Karen M Lammers, Paolo Gionchetti, Massimo Campieri, Anthony Lembo, Patrizia Brigidi
Affiliations

Effects of probiotic bacteria on gastrointestinal motility in guinea-pig isolated tissue

Matteo Massi et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the intestinal motility changes evoked by 8 bacterial strains belonging to Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus genera within the probiotic preparation VSL#3.

Methods: Ileum and proximal colon segments isolated from guinea-pigs were used as a study model. Entire cells and cell fractions (cell debris, cell wall fraction, cytoplasmatic fraction, proteinaceous and non-proteinaceous cytoplasmatic components) of VSL#3 strains and, as controls, Escherichia coli, Salmonella aboni and Bacillus licheniformis were tested in this in vitro model.

Results: Among the bacterial cell fractions tested, only the cytoplasmatic fraction modified intestinal motility. Lactobacillus strains stimulated the contraction of ileum segment, whereas all probiotic strains tested induced proximal colon relaxation response. The non-proteinaceous cytoplasmatic components were responsible for the colon relaxation.

Conclusion: The results obtained in this study suggest that the proximal colon relaxation activity showed by the probiotic bacteria could be one of the possible mechanisms of action by which probiotics exert their positive effects in regulating intestinal motility.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Recorder tracing of the cumulative dose of VSL#3 (A), Bifidobacterium (B), Lactobacillus (C), Streptococcus thermophilus (D), Salmonella aboni (E), Escherichia coli (F), and Bacillus licheniformis (G) crude extracts on the contractility of Guinea-pig isolated ileum. Arrows indicate the addition of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 μL of each crude extract tested.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Recorder tracing of the cumulative dose of VSL#3 (A), Bifidobacterium (B), Lactobacillus (C), Streptococcus thermophilus (D), Salmonella aboni (E), Escherichia coli (F), and Bacillus licheniformis (G) crude extracts on the contractility of Guinea-pig isolated proximal colon. Arrows indicate the addition of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 μL of each crude extract tested.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relaxation induced by crude extract of VSL#3 mixture, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium, Escherichia coli, Salmonella aboni and Bacillus licheniformis preparations on Guinea-pig proximal colon. Relaxation was expressed as change in mg-tension per cm of chart paper in resting tone (A). Relaxation was expressed in percentage, by considering VSL#3 mixture-induced maximal relaxation as 100% (B). The volume (μL) indicates the minimal value exerting maximal relaxation effects. Each crude extract was prepared from a bacterial suspension equivalent to a concentration of 3.5 x 109 CFUs/mL. Each point is the mean ± SE of 5 to 7 observations. Mean ± SE was given (P < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relaxation induced by B. infantis crude extract, cytoplasmatic fraction, membrane fraction and cell wall fraction on Guinea-pig proximal colon. Relaxation was expressed as change in mg-tension per cm of chart paper in resting tone (A). Relaxation was expressed in percentage, by considering crude extract-induced maximal relaxation as 100% (B). The volume (μL) indicates the minimal value exerting maximal relaxation effects. Each crude extract was prepared from a bacterial suspension equivalent to a concentration of 3.5 x 109 CFUs/mL. Each point is the mean ± SE of 5 to 7 observations. Mean ± SE was given (P < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
SDS PAGE elec-trophoresis of B. infantis cytoplasmatic fraction (lane 1), cytoplasmatic non-proteinaceous components (lane 2), cytoplas-matic fraction proteinase K digested (lane 3), molecular weight marker (lane 4).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Relaxation induced by B. infantis cytoplasmatic fraction, cytoplasmatic proteinaceous components, cytoplasmatic non-proteinaceous components and cytoplasmatic fraction proteinase K digested on guinea-pig proximal colon Relaxation was expressed as change in mg-tension per cm of chart paper in resting tone (A). Relaxation was expressed in percentage, by considering cytoplasmatic fraction-induced maximal relaxation as 100% (B). The volume (μL) indicates the minimal value exerting maximal relaxation effects. Each crude extract was prepared from a bacterial suspension equivalent to a concentration of 3.5 x 109 CFUs/mL. Each point is the mean ± SE of 5 to 7 observations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fuller R. Probiotics in human medicine. Gut. 1991;32:439–442. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guarner F, Malagelada JR. Gut flora in health and disease. Lancet. 2003;361:512–519. - PubMed
    1. Marteau PR, de Vrese M, Cellier CJ, Schrezenmeir J. Protection from gastrointestinal diseases with the use of probiotics. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;73:430S–436S. - PubMed
    1. Guandalini S, Pensabene L, Zikri MA, Dias JA, Casali LG, Hoekstra H, Kolacek S, Massar K, Micetic-Turk D, Papadopoulou A, et al. Lactobacillus GG administered in oral rehydration solution to children with acute diarrhea: a multicenter European trial. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2000;30:54–60. - PubMed
    1. Saavedra J. Probiotics and infectious diarrhea. Am J Gastroenterol. 2000;95:S16–S18. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources