Metabolic properties of lactobacilli in women experiencing recurring episodes of bacterial vaginosis with vaginal pH >or= 5.

While 60% of women experiencing recurring episodes of bacterial vaginosis (BV) with vaginal pH >or= 5 are depleted of resident probiotic lactobacilli, the remainder carry one or more strains of lactobacilli. Their ability to make D-lactic acid is, however, low (3.94 +/- 0.72 mM/L) compared to the D-lactic acid produced by strains from healthy vagina with vaginal pH approximately 4 (8.04 +/- 1.07 mM/L) culture supernatant of 0.5 McFarland concentration (P < 0.001).