Probiotics aren’t universally gut-friendly, a study in mice suggests. At least one type of usually beneficial gut bacteria may invite an unwanted guest.
A single dose of Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria, a popular probiotic component found naturally in milk and yogurt, can make it easier for Clostridioides difficile to take hold in the guts of mice that were recently treated with antibiotics, researchers report July 21 in mBio. By contrast, another strain of probiotic microbe called Lactobacillus gasseri Lg-36 helped mice resist infection by C. difficile, a pathogen that can cause severe and sometimes life-threatening diarrheal disease after taking antibiotics.
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