Studies of the Effects of Antibiotics on the Microflora of the Gastrointestinal Tract by Fluorimetry

Abstract

An approach to identifying the effects of different groups of antibiotics (tetracyclines, penicillins, cephalosporins) on the vital activity of lactobacilli by fluorimetry is described. The method is based on measurement of the fluorescence intensity of the intracellular metabolite nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form (NADH). Different classes of antibiotics were found to have different effects on lactobacilli. Amoxycillin produced no microbial death, while tetracycline and cephazolin had different levels of fatal effects on lactobacilli.