Abstract

Human milk contains a group of bacteria with potential to be used as probiotics but the origin of these bacteria is debated. This study was aimed to identify and isolate lactobacilli in breast milk and investigate the role of consuming probiotic supplements on the lactobacilli microflora of breast milk. Ten out of twenty mothers were placed on the probiotic diet and the others were considered as controls. The breast milks of these mothers were cultured on MRS. The whole genome of 16s ribosomal DNA of different colonies was amplified using polymerase chain reaction for identification down to the strain level. Finally Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 was isolated just from four mothers who were placed on probiotic diet. Since this strain was dominant bacteria in capsules which used as a source of probiotic diets, it may imply that modulation of the mother’s intestinal microflora can have an effect on the health of infants and therefore, would open new perspectives for using breast milk as a source of probiotic bacteria with bacteriotherapy approach.

Key words: Probiotic capsules, lactobacilli, breast milk, polymerase chain reaction.