Warding Off Recurrent Yeast and Bacterial Vaginal Infections: Lactoferrin and Lactobacilli

Overview

Journal Microorganisms

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2020 Jan 23

PMID 31963487

Citations 16

Authors

Fabiana Superti

Francesco De Seta

Affiliations

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Abstract

Vaginal infections are the most prevalent women's health problem. Incompetent diagnosis, inappropriate treatments, and antibiotic resistance are the main causes of the unsatisfactory results of conventional, antimicrobic treatment for these infections. Research has thus been conducted to identify new treatments for these genital diseases. The significant enhancement in our knowledge of vaginal microbiota has permitted the development of new, nonpharmacological strategies for the treatment of vaginal infections that seek to restore the balance of vaginal microflora, as opposed to modifying its components. Among these approaches, bioactive compounds, such as probiotics and nutraceutical proteins (such as lactoferrin), deserve particular attention. The aim of this review is to examine the role of probiotics (mainly spp.) and lactoferrin as new strategies for counteracting bacterial and fungal vaginal infections.

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