26. The microbiome, probiotics and research on bacterial adhesion in the gut

How is the gut-microbiota related to human health? And why do some Lactobacillus strains show health-promoting properties?

I this episode, we talk to Dr. Joana Ortega-Anaya, postdoc researcher at the Department of Food Science and technology, at the Ohio State University, to learn more about probiotics and how food can be used to support the symbiotic microbes in the gut microbiome. 

Dr.Ortega-Anaya specializes in the study of milk components and how they affect probiotics and human health. The conversation starts with Dr. Ortega-Anaya explaining what the microbiome is and what role it plays in the body. She describes the so-called “gut-brain axis” and how different lifestyle factors, such as stress and diet affect the composition of the microbiota – a composition which in turn affects our wellbeing. We then move on to talk about Dr.Ortega-Anaya’s research. Using QCM-D technology and other methods, she has studied four different lactobacillus strains, and how the bacterial adhesion, one of the key aspects of probiotic lactic acid bacteria, was affected by the presence of milk fat.

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