Design of novel urogenital pharmabiotic formulations containing lactobacilli, salivaricin CRL 1328 and non-microbial compounds with different functionalities

AbstractContext: The administration of pharmabiotics is a promising alternative to antimicrobial drugs for the treatment and/or prevention of female urogenital infections.Objective: To design pharmabiotic formulations including bioactive ingredients of microbial origin combined with non-microbial substances and then to evaluate the stability of the combinations during freeze-drying and storage.Materials and methods: Different formulations including Lactobacillus gasseri CRL 1263, Lactobacillus salivarius CRL 1328, salivaricin CRL 1328 (a bacteriocin) and non-microbial compounds (lactose, inulin and ascorbic acid) were assayed, and the ingredients were freeze-dried together or separately. The formulations were stored in gelatin capsules at 4 °C for 360 d.Results: The viability of lactobacilli was affected to different extents depending on the strains and on the formulations assayed. L. salivarius and ascorbic acid were successfully combined only after the freeze-drying process. Salivaricin activity was not...