Selective growth-inhibitory effect of 8-hydroxyquinoline towards Clostridium difficile and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum in co-culture analysed by flow cytometry

The major risk factor for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the use of antibiotics owing to the disruption of the equilibrium of the host gut microbiota. To preserve the beneficial resident probiotic bacteria during infection treatment, the use of molecules with selective antibacterial activity enhances the efficacy by selectively removing C. difficile. One of them is the plant alkaloid 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ), which has been shown to selectively inhibit clostridia without repressing bifidobacteria. Selective antimicrobial activity is generally tested by culture techniques of individual bacterial strains. However, the main limitation of these techniques is the inability to describe …