ArticleThe Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2013
Vaginal concentrations of lactic acid potently inactivate HIV.
Article in The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 173 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lactic acid-containing products for bacterial vaginosis and their impact on the vaginal microbiota: A systematic review.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- The Effect of Exogenous Sex Steroids on the Vaginal Microbiota: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Pooled it
- Adjunct vaginal lactic acid with single-dose metronidazole for bacterial vaginosis: a randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2026Trial
- Exploring potential of vaginal Lactobacillus isolates from South African women for enhancing treatment for bacterial vaginosis.PLoS pathogens · 2020Trial
- Combined oral contraceptive pill-exposure alone does not reduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis recurrence in a pilot randomised controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Antimicrobial and inflammatory properties of South African clinical Lactobacillus isolates and vaginal probiotics.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Characterization of vaginal lactobacilli from South African women toward the development of a biotherapeutic to optimize the vaginal microbiome.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Selection and Characterization of Vaginal Lactobacilli from Healthy Algerian Women with Potential Probiotic Properties Against Urogenital Pathogens.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Impact of the Vaginal Microbiome and Microbial Metabolites on HIV Transmission at the Female Reproductive Tract Epithelial Barrier.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Harnessing the Vaginal Microbiome: A New Frontier in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections.Expert reviews in molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Modular biosynthesis of microbiome-derived polyketides and nonribosomal peptides: insights and opportunities for Lactobacillaceae.Microbial cell factories · 2026Review
- State-of-the-Art Review: Managing Vulvovaginal Candidiasis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026Review
- The Vaginal Microbiome and Host Health: Implications for Cervical Cancer Progression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The microbiota-host metabolic axis in cervical cancer: from homeostatic disruption to mechanisms of therapy resistance.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Stool and vaginal microbiome profiles patterns among Black and White endometrial cancer survivors: A pilot study in North Carolina.PloS one · 2026Article
- Metabolism-Driven Modulation by the Human Microbiota: Implications for Cancer Therapy and Emerging Strategies.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Vaginal microbiome structure in pregnancy and host factors predict preterm birth: Results from the ECHO Cohort.Annals of epidemiology · 2025Article
- A prodrug strategy for sustained release of lactic acid from silicone elastomer vaginal rings.International journal of pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- Lactic acid produced by optimal vaginal Lactobacillus spp. potently and specifically inactivates HIV-1 in vitro by targeting the viral RNA genome and reverse transcriptase.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWhen Lactobacillus spp. dominate the vaginal microbiota of women of reproductive age they acidify the vagina to pH <4.0 by producing ∼1% lactic acid in a nearly racemic mixture of d- and l-isomers. We determined the HIV virucidal activity of racemic lactic acid, and its d- and l-isomers, compared with acetic acid and acidity alone (by the addition of HCl).
methodsHIV-1 and HIV-2 were transiently treated with acids in the absence or presence of human genital secretions at 37°C for different time intervals, then immediately neutralized and residual infectivity determined in the TZM-bl reporter cell line.
resultsl-lactic acid at 0.3% (w/w) was 17-fold more potent than d-lactic acid in inactivating HIVBa-L. Complete inactivation of different HIV-1 subtypes and HIV-2 was achieved with ≥0.4% (w/w) l-lactic acid. At a typical vaginal pH of 3.8, l-lactic acid at 1% (w/w) more potently and rapidly inactivated HIVBa-L and HIV-1 transmitter/founder strains compared with 1% (w/w) acetic acid and with acidity alone, all adjusted to pH 3.8. A final concentration of 1% (w/w) l-lactic acid maximally inactivated HIVBa-L in the presence of cervicovaginal secretions and seminal plasma. The anti-HIV activity of l-lactic acid was pH dependent, being abrogated at neutral pH, indicating that its virucidal activity is mediated by protonated lactic acid and not the lactate anion.
conclusionsl-lactic acid at physiological concentrations demonstrates potent HIV virucidal activity distinct from acidity alone and greater than acetic acid, suggesting a protective role in the sexual transmission of HIV.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.