ABSTRACT
Based on culturing of the organisms, it was long believed that Lactobacillus acidophilus was the dominant species. However, this perception changed in the 1980s and 1990s, with Lactobacillus
Contents 25.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 543 25.2 Endogenous LAB ........................................................................................................... 544
25.2.1 Microbiota of the Vagina .................................................................................... 544 25.2.2 Microbiota of the Urinary Tract ..........................................................................545
25.3 Probiotics for Urogenital Health .................................................................................... 546 25.3.1 Origin and Characteristics of Probiotic and Candidate Probiotic Strains............ 546 25.3.2 Application of Probiotics to the Urogenital Tract ................................................ 547 25.3.3 Probiotics for BV ................................................................................................ 548 25.3.4 Probiotics for VVC ............................................................................................. 548 25.3.5 Probiotics for UTI .............................................................................................. 548
25.4 Future Challenges ...........................................................................................................554 References ................................................................................................................................554
crispatus and Lactobacillus jensenii identified by culture as being more common (Antonio et al. 1999). Since then, studies employing molecular techniques have revealed a much more complex microbiota with newly discovered organisms such as Lactobacillus iners being shown to dominate a healthy vagina and Atopobium vaginae in BV subjects (Dumonceaux et al. 2009; Forney et al. 2010; Srinivasan et al. 2010; Yamamoto et al. 2009; Zhou et al. 2010). While these studies have, for the most part, reaffirmed lactobacilli as the dominant microbes in the vagina of the majority of healthy women, there is mounting evidence that in some cases a different microbial pattern can exist in the absence of any disease indicators. In this chapter, we will discuss what is known about the microbiota of the urogenital tract and how LAB, especially lactobacilli, might be used as probiotics for maintenance of health and prevention or treatment of disease.
