Lactobacillus Acidophilus
(Colonies of lactobacillus acidophilus) (some Lactobacillus acidophilus grouped around a cell)
Classification: Lactobacilli are classified as lactic acid bacteria, and derive almost all of their energy from the conversion of glucose to lactate during homolactic fermentation. In this process 85-90% of the sugar utilized is converted to lactic acid.
Gram stain- Lactobacillus acidophilus is a gram-positive bacteria.
Structure: It is usually straight, although it can form coccobacillary,which forms under certain conditions. They are often found in chains of varying length.
Habitat: This such bacteria inhabits the intestines, the vagina, and protects against the entrance and proliferation of "bad" organisms that can carry disease.
Nutrition- Lactobacillus acidophilus makes lactic acid. Lactic acid is then used for many things including the Cori cycle. Lactobacillus is a heterofermentive bacteria.
Reproduction- There is much debate on how Lactobacillus acidophilus goes through out reproducing. More research is required in order to settle this dispute. Allthough we don't know exactly how the reproduce we do know that Lactobacillus Acidophilus halts the reproduction of harmful bacteria. This is where most of its bennificial properties come from.
History- Lactobacillus acidophilus was first described by Ismar Isidor Boas. It gets it name from lacto witch means milk, bacillus which means rod shaped, and acidophilus because it is acid loving. He was a German gastroenteritis. Lactobacillus Acidophilus is sometimes referred to as Boas-oppler after Ismar. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismar_Isidor_Boas for a more enriched history about Ismar.
Beneficial Properties-
Lactobacillus bacteria are often used in the making of yogurt, and Acidophilus is used along with Streptococcus salivarius andLactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus to do so. For a wonderful indepth view of L. Acidophilus visit http://www.health-reports.com.
Lactobacillus Acidophilus will also help strengthen your immune system, digestion and prevent yeast disease. Whenever a friendly cell is killed in your gastrointestinal system, an Acidophilus will replace it to help support the immune system.
When dealing with systems that aren't human or animal (i.e. plants, fungi or protistas), the L. acidophilus will act slightly different. It will adhere itself to cell walls and create a more acidic environment, which will kill off many of the hostile bacteria. In addition, it will help supply vitamin K. Vitamin K is the primary factor that causes the coagulation of blood, which is important in preventing a blood disease.
Yeast disease: It causes thrush in the human mouth, which is a painful mouth condition.
Environment difficulties-
Acidophilus is usually only killed by antibiotics, which is why you're generally advised to begin taking Acidophilus supplements after using antibiotics (to replace the lost Acidophilus in your gastrointestinal tract). You're far more exposed to infections if you have a deficiency of L. acidophilus; your immune system will also be much weaker. Of course, it's still quite possible for Acidophilus to be killed by viruses or hostile bacteria, but it's far more unlikely, as usually they will be ignored in favor of the immune system bacteria.
Medical research-
It is now a widely held belief that Lactobacillus Acidophilus will help lower your cholesterol levels, although it’s not 100% positive yet. In addition, research has been done showing that Acidophilus may be able to relieve people of diarrhea and various problems to be had with indigestion, although this is still mostly theoretical. It has been confirmed that this bacteria will prevent yeast disease, but that seems to be one of the only aspects of L. Acidophilus that people can be completely sure of.
A recent experiment in Nebraska showed that, when a certain type of feed was mixed with L. acidophilus, the cows that digested this food had a 61% cutback of E. coli. This suggests that acidophilus will kill E. coli when given the chance, meaning that they possibly view each other as opposing bacteria.
Interesting-
Lactobacillus Acidophilus is generally found in the human stomach, mouth, vagina and intestinal tract, because Acidophilus can be killed by any sort of exposure to a large amount of heat and/or sunlight. Thankfully, Acidophilus is not harmful if it escapes your intestines, or else it could become as dangerous as E. coli.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.