Effect of antibiotics on the human intestinal flora in mice

✍ Scribed by M. P. Hazenberg; M. Boom; M. Bakker; J. P. Merwe

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 598 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-6072
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00393667

✦ Synopsis

Antibiotics used during selective decontamination were studied for their effect on the human intestinal flora in mice. Polymyxin B and neomycin were found to eliminate Escherichia coli from the gastrointestinal tract but did not alter total numbers of obligate anaerobes. Neomycin induced an increase of the percentage of gram-negative obligate anaerobes. Cephradine did not affect the numbers of obligate and facultative anaerobes but increased the percentage of gram-negative obligately anaerobic rods in the flora. The selective effect of polymyxin B and neomycin on the flora is accounted for by a relative insusceptibility of the anaerobic flora as compared with E. coli. Low concentrations of polymyxin B and neomycin were detected in caecal supernatants. This was found to be due to strong binding of both antibiotics to the solid fraction of intestinal contents.