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Researchers looked into Squacquerone cheese as a viable carrier for Lactobacillus crispatus, one of our favourite vaginal colonisers.1
Squacquerone cheese is a soft, spreadable Italian cheese.
Why L. crispatus?
L. crispatus has strong antimicrobial activity when it comes to urogenital pathogens and foodborne organisms.
Why cheese?
Why not cheese! When it comes to food as medicine, we usually have to rely on probiotic foods like milk kefir, yoghurt and others for lactobacilli strains that support vulvovaginal health.
What did the study reveal?
L. crispatus (BC4) was used as an adjunct culture in making Squacquerone cheese and evaluated after refrigerated storage and digestive simulations in the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem.
The data reveals that L. crispatus maintained high viability, even under stress conditions, until the end of refrigerated storage. The cheese product also scored overall higher acceptability when compared to the control cheese.
L. crispatus also survived the simulated digestive transit process, affected by a low stomach pH, rather than bile salts and pancreatic juices.
The trial was in the lab, and thus trials must be carried out in humans to see if the cheese has any medical use as a functional food.
What this means
This is a fun ‘food as medicine’ idea: L. crispatus is one of the star protective vaginal bacteria, and getting a hardy strain into a tasty everyday food that survives storage and digestion is clever. But this was a laboratory study – it has not been tested in people yet, so for now it is a promising concept rather than a treatment you can eat your way to.
This article is general information and not a substitute for personalised medical advice. If you are worried about your symptoms, please see an experienced practitioner.
- Patrignani F, Siroli L, Parolin C, Serrazanetti DI, Vitali B, Lanciotti R. Use of Lactobacillus crispatus to produce a probiotic cheese as potential gender food for preventing gynaecological infections. PLOS ONE. 2019;14(1):e0208906.
