Latest Research: Postbiotics Inhibit Helicobacter pylori, Helping White-Collar Workers Combat the "Invisible Overtime" Monster in Their Stomachs! Part 1

"How's Your Stomach Today?" — The Soul-Searching Question for Modern White-Collar Workers

By day, they survive on coffee; by night, they rely on takeout for comfort. Their stomachs have long been reduced to nothing more than "corporate slaves."
But lurking within, a true tough guy might just be quietly working its own "invisible overtime" in your stomach—meet Helicobacter pylori (Hp)!
· While other germs fear stomach acid, Hp t"How's Your Stomach Today?" — The Soul-Searching Question for Modern White-Collar Workers

By day, they survive on coffee; by night, they rely on takeout for comfort. Their stomachs have long been reduced to nothing more than "corporate slaves."
But lurking within, a true tough guy might just be quietly working its own "invisible overtime" in your stomach—meet Helicobacter pylori (Hp)!
· While other germs fear stomach acid, Hp treats it like a relaxing acid-proof hot spring.
· While other pathogens avoid the immune system, Hp digs right into the stomach lining, settling down and raising a family.
· The World Health Organization classified it as a Group 1 carcinogen back in 1994—essentially handing your stomach a "cancer ticket" that's bound to arrive—just fashionably late.

Bioyitech's Chief Scientist, Professor Zhang Lanwei and Lecturer Zhang Zhe from the School of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China:Postbiotics Inhibit the Adhesion and Survival of Helicobacter pylori through a Co-Aggregation Mechanism.

Research Findings

In this study, Helicobacter pylori was used as the specific pathogen, and in vitro co-aggregation experiments were conducted on 35 strains of Postbiotics to evaluate their co-aggregation ability with H. pylori. The results showed that the co-aggregation rates ranged mainly between 10% and 80%, with five strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus MN45, LactoBacillus fermentum YNM1-1, Lactobacillus acidophilus D-L, Lactobacillus reuteri M07, and Lactobacillus fermentum YNM7-2) exhibiting the highest co-aggregation rates. Compared to the positive control strain DSM17648, the co-aggregation rates of these five strains were significantly higher (P < 0.05).

Figure 1. Co-aggregation rates of 35 postbiotic strains with Helicobacter pylori.

Based on in vitro co-aggregation rates, the top five strains and the positive control strain DSM17648 were selected for observation under confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in simulated gastric fluid. Helicobacter pylori SS1 and the postbiotics were fluorescently stained with CFDA-SE and PI, respectively. As shown in Figure 2, obvious bacterial stacking and aggregation were observed in the merged images (at 100× and 1000× magnification) of H. pylori co-incubated with DSM17648 (Figure 2A), MN45 (Figure 2B), YNM1-1 (Figure 2C), D-L (Figure 2D), M07 (Figure 2E), and YNM7-2 (Figure 2F). Compared with DSM17648, MN45 exhibited the strongest co-aggregation ability with H. pylori, indicating stronger interbacterial interactions. YNM1-1 and D-L showed moderate co-aggregation ability, while the interactions of M07 and YNM7-2 were relatively weak.

Figure 2. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis of postbiotic-Helicobacter pylori co-aggregates. H. pylori was labeled with CFDA-SE (green), and postbiotics were stained with PI (red). (A) DSM17648 group, (B) MN45 group, (C) YNM1-1 group, (D) D-L group, (E) M07 group, (F) YNM7-2 group.

To further investigate the physical connections between bacterial strains and their cell surface characteristics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to analyze their ultrastructure. As shown in Figure 3A, H. pylori SS1 exhibited a typical curved, short rod-shaped morphology. Using the positive control strain DSM17648 (Figure 3B) as a benchmark, we further analyzed the co-aggregation ability of MN45 (Figure 3C), YNM1-1 (Figure 3D), and D-L (Figure 3E) with H. pylori by SEM. MN45 (Figure 3C), YNM1-1 (Figure 3D), and D-L (Figure 3E) were clearly identified as elongated rods, thick elongated rods, and elongated rods, respectively. At 5000× and 10000× magnification, all three Lactobacillus strains were observed to aggregate with H. pylori, forming larger co-aggregate structures. Furthermore, we observed that multiple H. pylori cells clustered around each individual Lactobacillus cell, facilitating the formation of a cross-linked structure.