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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems

This article is part of the Research TopicImpact of Diet on Gut Microbiome Regulation in Chronic Inflammation and Aging ProcessesView all 3 articles

Culture-based studies of intestinal lactobacilli in young people and centenarians

Provisionally accepted
Imbi SmidtImbi Smidt1Tiiu RööpTiiu Rööp1Reet MändarReet Mändar1Jelena Štšepetova (Shchepetova)Jelena Štšepetova (Shchepetova)1Siiri KõljalgSiiri Kõljalg1Kalle KilkKalle Kilk1Indrek SoodleIndrek Soodle2Mare AinsaarMare Ainsaar2Helgi KolkHelgi Kolk3Epp SeppEpp Sepp1*
  • 1Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
  • 2Institute of Social Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
  • 3Department of Internal medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

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Biological ageing is a multifactorial process involving profound changes in human physiology, including the gut microbiota. Lactobacilli in the digestive tract may play an important role in the longevity of centenarians. However, the composition and functional characteristics of their gut lactobiota remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the cultured gut lactobacilli of centenarians and young adults and to identify strains suitable for the development of potential probiotics. Fecal samples from centenarians (n = 25) and young adults (n = 25) were analyzed. In total, twenty Lactobacillus species were identified: six species were shared between groups, twelve were unique to centenarians, and two to young adults. While the overall abundance of Lactobacillaceae was similar between groups, centenarians exhibited greater Lactobacillus species richness and a higher relative share of lactobacilli to the gut microbiota. Lactobacilli isolated from centenarians displayed distinct carbohydrate fermentation patterns and metabolic profiles compared with those from young adults, including higher levels of acylcarnitines, arachidonic acid and bile acids. These findings indicate that centenarian-associated lactobacilli exhibit distinct metabolic characteristics compared to those isolated from young adults, suggesting potential functional differences that may be relevant to healthy ageing and probiotic research.

Keywords: Biochemical profile, centenarians, lactobacilli, Metabolic activities, microbiota, Probiotics

Received: 14 Nov 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Smidt, Rööp, Mändar, Štšepetova (Shchepetova), Kõljalg, Kilk, Soodle, Ainsaar, Kolk and Sepp. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Epp Sepp

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material