Assessment of Prevalence, Adhesion and Surface Charges
of Bifidobacterium spp. Isolated from Thai Women with
Bacterial Vaginosis and Healthy Women
Parada Utto MSc*, Rawee Teanpaisan PhD*, Supatcharin Piwat PhD**, Verapol Chandeying MD***
Affiliation :
* Common Oral Diseases and Epidemiology Research Center and the Department of Stomatology,
Faculty of Dentistry, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
** Common Oral Diseases and Epidemiology Research Center and the Department of Preventive Dentistry,
Faculty of Dentistry, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
*** School of Medicine, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
Background : Bifidobacterium spp. have been reported in women with bacterial vaginosis (BV), nevertheless data of preva-
lence and adhesion property of the vaginal bifidobacteria in Thai women with BV are still limited.
Objective : To determine prevalence of Bifidobacterium spp. and to evaluate adhesion ability and cell surface properties of
bifidobacterial isolates from Thai women with BV compared to healthy subjects.
Material and Method: A total of 139 bifidobacterial isolates from 20 of 60 women with BV and 7 of 60 healthy women. The
isolated strains were identified by molecular biology techniques and examined for adhesion property and surface charges.
Results : The prevalence of vaginal bifidobacteria in women with BV (33.3%) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than healthy
women (11.7%) with total counts of 8.9±3.4 Log CFU/ml and 5.7±2.9 Log CFU/ml, respectively. The frequent species of B.
bifidum, B. longum, B. breve and B. dentium were found in women with BV, while healthy women harbored B. bifidum, B.
longum and B. breve. All vaginal bifidobacteria from BV and healthy subjects were able to adhere cultured cells in vitro.
The adhesion ability of B. bifidum and B. dentium from BV subjects showed high degree of adhesion property and was in
correlation with cell surface characteristics.
Conclusion : The prevalence of vaginal bifidobacteria occurred significantly higher in women with BV than healthy group.
The strains of B. bifidum and B. dentium showed high adhesion property which implied as an important role of colonization
in vaginas of women with BV.
Keywords : Prevalence, adhesion, bifidobacteria, bacterial vaginosis, surface charge
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