Beneficial Bacteria As Probiotics For HIV In Breastfeeding Children Essay

Beneficial Bacteria As Probiotics For HIV In Breastfeeding Children - Essay Example The first study reported in the article is by Ruth Connor and fellow workers whose objectives were to isolate the bacteria responsible for inhibition of HIV infectivity and to determine whether this ability (inhibition of HIV) was due to specific structural components of the bacteria such as the cell wall or instead the soluble chemical composition of the bacteria. The results of the study would prove or fail to prove the hypothetical basis that lactic acid bacteria in breast milk are responsible for the observed inhibition of transmission of the virus to the baby. To do this, the researchers tested 38 strains of different lactic acid bacteria present in the breast milk of healthy women against HIV-1. Heat-killed virus particles and soluble compounds were utilized to take care of the second objective. The results showed that all the strains tested had antiviral potential with the lowest inhibiting the virus by 6.7% while the highest inhibition was 55.5%. The heat-killed whole particl es were, however, more effective with 11 strains achieving an inhibition of 41% and above while only 6 strains of the soluble compounds were inhibitory of which only one strain achieved over 41% inhibition levels. The studies were done in vitro and the results confirm that lactic acid bacteria are indeed responsible for breast milk’s antiviral properties. The implication of the study results is the possibility of production of probiotics to augment maternal milk in maximizing inhibition of the virus. Tao's study, on the other hand, highlights the fact that in vitro inhibitions of only 30-50% are with high concentrations of the