Inulin Induced Co-Aggregation of Saccharomyces boulardii with Potential Pathogenic Bacteria

The synbiotic potential of Saccharomyces boulardii and inulin was evaluated on mice gut microflora. The number of microorganisms in the feces of mice treated with the synbiotic combination or Saccharomyces boulardii/inulin alone was found to be less compared to the normal control. S. boulardii grown in presence of inulin was found to interact and form aggregation with Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis in vitro though the same interaction pattern was not seen with Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus plantarum. Aggregate was not found between E. coli/E. faecalis and S. boularii when the later was grown in prebiotics like maltodextrin and fructooligosaccharide. All the microorganisms were found to be alive in the aggregate and heat treatment of S. boulardii completely abolished the aggregation property. There was no biofilm formation in the aggregate and inhibition of protein synthesis resulted in no aggregation with E. coli/E. faecalis. Removal of the effect of cycloheximide from S. boulardii restored back the aggregation in presence of inulin. Thus, the decreased number of microorganisms in feces might be a result of aggregate formation between S. boulardii and E. coli/E. faecalis in presence of inulin and subsequent elimination from gut through mucus.