In vitrogrowth behaviour of probiotic bacteria in culture media with carbohydrates of prebiotic importance

The influence of a variety of prebiotic sugars (galacto-, manno-, fructooligosaccharides, lactulose and others) and basic carbohydrates on the growth of a selection of probiotic bifidobacteria (9 strains), Lactobacillus acidophilus (8 strains) and other lactobacilli (9 strains) was investigated by applying in vitro methodologies based on optical density measurement. It has been shown that some of the bacteria could markedly utilize the substrates but with pronounced variation, depending on the individual nature of the strains. Besides their capability to grow in galacto- and fructooligosacharide containing media, a distinct growth in lactulose-based substrates was evident for most of the strains tested. Results presented can be used for selecting probiotic strains and prebiotic sugars to form synbiotic formulations.