Ultrasound-powered parabiotics to combat oral diseases
Probiotics are live microorganisms, often referred to as ‘friendly’ or ‘good’ bacteria, that can help support digestive health and maintain a balanced gut microbiome. Given their potential to improve overall well-being, probiotics have been used in various medical fields to reconstitute the gut with commensal bacteria after antibiotic treatment and to boost the immune system by directly competing with pathogenic microorganisms. Despite their promising health benefits, technical challenges associated with probiotic viability control has hampered their implementation in medical applications. To overcome the hurdles associated with the maintenance of viable probiotic bacteria, there is a growing interest in inactivated probiotics and related products.
Generating inactivated probiotics
Parabiotics are inactivated probiotics generated usually by heat technologies and have exhibited health benefits in medicine. The EU-funded INPAROL project aimed to introduce ultrasound technology to produce parabiotics in a more controlled manner for use in dental care. “Ultrasound technology can accommodate various applications from imaging to disinfection, due to its varied and tuneable parameters,” explains the research fellow Cher Farrugia. The work focused on Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri, two strains of probiotics with reported beneficial impact on health. Farrugia and her team tested different combinations of these bacterial strains and explored several protocols to produce parabiotics using ultrasound. A 15-minute treatment with ultrasound was sufficient to kill bacteria and form parabiotics.
What is the impact of ultrasound on probiotics?
The team used scanning electron microscopy to study the physical cellular changes occurring after probiotic treatment. They observed a progressive collapse of the bacterial membrane with increasing ultrasound treatment time. Interestingly, the longer the treatment, the lower the inhibitory effect the parabiotic had on oral microorganisms. This prompted further investigation of the post-treatment supernatant using proteomics which confirmed the presence of bacterial membrane portions. Researchers also employed modelling techniques to test the growth patterns of the microorganisms exposed to various concentrations of the filtered supernatant.
Looking into the future of probiotics vs parabiotics
Maintaining oral hygiene is paramount for preventing tooth decay and gum disease while emerging evidence suggests a role for oral bacteria in cardiovascular disease. However, the use of probiotics in dentistry to combat oral bacteria has been limited. INPAROL aims to change that by introducing ultrasound technology as a means to create parabiotics, offering valuable insights into the process and its outcome. Importantly, it provides concrete evidence on the potential of parabiotics to counteract oral bacteria associated with oral diseases. Results are of significance to various stakeholders in the growing field of probiotics and their related products. “This groundbreaking approach not only holds promise for broadening the options of oral health treatment and prevention, but also has potential impact in other medical applications, food science applications and beyond,” emphasises Farrugia. INPAROL findings were disseminated to the public through a series of activities that included a radio interview on a weekly science programme and a newspaper article on the role of the oral microbiome.
Keywords
INPAROL, probiotics, dental care, oral bacteria, parabiotics, ultrasound technology
