Viable counts of bacteria in the fecal samples were then conducted by plating serial 10-fold dilutions (in 1% peptone solution)
onto MacConkey agar plates (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, MI) and Lactobacilli medium III agar plates (Medium 638; DSMZ, Braunschweig, Germany) to isolate the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Lactobacillus, respectively. The lactobacilli medium III agar plates were then incubated for 48 h at 39°C under anaerobic conditions.