Identification of Lactobacillus plantarum in Breast Milk

Introduction: The anti-infective effect of early colonization of infants by potentially probiotic lactic acid bacteria in human milk is a growing area of research. Lactobacillus plantarum colonization in early infancy may be important to health in later life. Here, we present an investigation into the presence of L. plantarum in breast milk from Iranian mothers. Materials and Methods: Human breast milk samples (n = 40) were randomly collected from lactating and breastfeeding women having undergone full-term pregnancies. Information concerning personal characteristics was collected after birth. The samples were cultured in de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe medium using the pour plate technique, and isolates were initially identified by biochemical methods. Isolates were established as belonging to the genus Lactobacillus based on the 16- 23S rRNA region, and the species L. plantarum was identified using PCR and primers targeting the recA gene. Results: In our study, 35 samples (87.5%) contained suspected lactobacilli based on phenotypic tests. Thirty of these (85.71%) were confirmed as containing bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus using a genotypic method (PCR), all of which were found to be L. plantarum. Conclusion: Probiotic bacteria in a mother’s breast milk may have positive effects on her infant’s health. This insight creates new perspectives concerning the use of breast milk as a source of probiotic bacteria for bacteriotherapy.