An Antibiotic-like Effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus

Abstract

UNTIL a few years ago, the beneficial effects resulting from the ingestion of the Lactobacillus acidophilus in cases of gastro-intestinal disturbances were attributed to the simple overgrowth of the offending pathogen by the Lactobacilli. Recently a number of workers have indicated that there was more to the reaction than just competition between strains. The substance produced by L. acidophilus has been called variously antagonist¹, lactobacillin², lactocidin³, and antibiotic⁴. All these workers found that the substance was extremely labile, and attempts to isolate it met with failure. A successful method for the visual demonstration of the phenomenon is described here but isolation has not yet been successfully accomplished.