Premium
MICROBIAL CONVERSION OF BILIRUBIN TO UROBILINS IN VITRO AND IN VIVO
Author(s) -
MIDTVEDT TORE,
GUSTAFSSON BENGT E.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
acta pathologica microbiologica scandinavica section b microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0304-131X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1981.tb00152_89b.x
Subject(s) - in vivo , in vitro , bilirubin , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , medicine , biology
No urobilins are formed from bilirubin in germ‐free rats. To isolate and investigate the strains of intestinal microorganisms responsible for this transformation, a suitable test medium was adopted. The strength of the medium and a rather high initial pH were found to be of importance. In this medium, suspensions of rat faeces and a single strain, Cl. ramosum (G62), converted bilirubin to urobilins. Cultivations of Cl. ramosum (G62) together with E. coli significantly enhanced the conversion, whereas addition of 4 other bacterial strains was without this influence. The highest in vitro formation of the urobilins was about 10% of the bilirubin present. When the 6 strains investigated in vitro were established in EXG rats, the in vivo conversion of bilirubin to urobilins was found to be about 15%, compared to 70% in CONV rats.