Objective: To evaluate the safety of the antimicrobial peptide, lactocin 160.

Methods: Lactocin 160, a product of vaginal probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus 160 was evaluated for toxicity and irritation. An in vitro human organotypic vaginal-ectocervical tissue model (EpiVaginal) was employed for the safety testing by determining the exposure time to reduce tissue viability to 50% (ET-50). Hemolytic activity of lactocin160 was tested using 8% of human erythrocyte suspension. Susceptibility of lactobacilli to lactocin160 was also studied. Rabbit vaginal irritation (RVI) model was used for an in vivo safety evaluation.

Results: The ET-50 value was 17.5 hours for lactocin 160 (4.9 hours for nonoxynol 9, N9). Hemolytic activity of lactocin 160 was 8.2% (N9 caused total hemolysis). Lactobacilli resisted to high concentrations of peptide preparation. The RVI model revealed slight vaginal irritation. An average irritation index grade was evaluated as "none."

Conclusions: Lactocin 160 showed minimal irritation and has a good potential for intravaginal application.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2216118PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2007/78248DOI Listing

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