The study of the effectiveness of the antibacterial action of the combination of a bacteriophage with a probiotic

Intestinal infections occupy one of the leading places in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in humans and animals. Strains of Staphylococcus spp are one of the causative agents of an intestinal infection. When treating an intestinal infection caused by staphylococcus, antibiotics are most often used, but in recent years there has been the formation of resistance in staphylococcus strains to antibiotics that have been used for many years. One of the promising ways to solve the problem of antimicrobial resistance is the use of drugs based on bacteriophages, which have a specific effect on the disease pathogens, however, they are free of toxic and allergenic side effects on the human body and do not cause resistance. Aim. To study the antibacterial effect of the combination of a staphylococcal bacteriophage and a probiotic based on L. acidophilus lactobacilli to different staphylococcal strains. Materials and methods. The following bacterial strains were used in the study: St. aureus ATCC 25923 and St. epidermidis ATCC 12228. The “Polyphag Staf” staphylococcal bacteriophage (manufactured by NVK MVK, Ukraine) and the “Lactofor” probiotic (manufactured by Ananta Medicare Limited, India) based on L. acidophilus lactobacilli were selected as objects. In the study, the antibiotic “Erythromycin” in tablets of 100 mg (the manufacturer – Borschagovsky HFZ, Ukraine) was used as a reference drug. To detect the antibacterial activity to the experimental strains of St. aureus and St. epidermidis, the methods of Appelman and agar diffusion were used. Results and discussion. It was found that when using the combination of a staphylococcal bacteriophage and a probiotic with L. acidophilus lactobacilli the level of the antibacterial activity to the experimental strains of St. aureus and St. epidermidis was higher than when using only the bacteriophage. This is probably due to the synergism of the interaction of the components of the combination of active substances proposed. It was also found that the antibacterial activity of the combination of drugs and the antibiotic erythromycin proposed was at the same level. Thus, the combination of a bacteriophage that destroys staphylococcal bacteria, has no side effects, and does not cause resistance and a probiotics that improves the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract has a number of advantages over antibioticsin the treatment of intestinal infections caused by staphylococcal strains. Conclusions. The studies conducted indicate the prospects of using the combination of a staphylococcal bacteriophage and a probiotic based on L. acidophilus lactobacilli for the treatment of intestinal infections caused by different staphylococcal strains.