This 10-months randomised, double-blind, parallel and placebo-controlled study evaluated the effects of Bifidobacterium longum BB536 on diarrhoea and/or upper respiratory illnesses in 520 healthy Malaysian pre-school children aged 2-6 years old. The subjects randomly received a one-gram sachet containing either BB536 (5×109 cfu) or placebo daily. Data analysis was performed on 219 subjects who fully complied over 10-months (placebo n=110, BB536 n=109). While BB536 did not exert significant effects against diarrhoea in children, Poisson regression with generalised estimating equations model indicated significant intergroup difference in the mean number of times of respiratory illnesses over 10 months. The duration of sore throat was reduced by 46% ( P =0.018), with marginal reduction for duration of fever (reduced by 27%, P =0.084), runny nose (reduced by 15%, P =0.087) and cough (reduced by 16%, P =0.087) as compared to the placebo. Principal coordinate analysis at genus level of the gut microbiota revealed significant differences between 0 and 10 months in the BB536 group ( P <0.01) but not in placebo group ( P >0.05). The abundance of the genus Faecalibacterium which is associated with anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulatory properties was significantly higher in the BB536 group ( P <0.05) compared to the placebo group. Altogether, our present study illustrated the potential protective effects of BB536 against upper respiratory illnesses in pre-school Malaysian children, with gut microbiota modulating properties.
In this study, we hypothesized that different strains of Lactobacillus can alleviate hyperlipidemia and liver steatosis via activation of 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme that is involved in cellular energy homeostasis, in aged rats. Male rats were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and injected with D-galactose daily over 12 weeks to induce aging. Treatments included (n = 6) (i) normal diet (ND), (ii) HFD, (iii) HFD-statin (lovastatin 2 mg/kg/day), (iv) HFD-Lactobacillus fermentum DR9 (10 log CFU/day), (v) HFD-Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 (10 log CFU/day), and (vi) HFD-Lactobacillus reuteri 8513d (10 log CFU/day). Rats administered with statin, DR9, and 8513d reduced serum total cholesterol levels after eight weeks (p < 0.05), while the administration of DR7 reduced serum triglycerides level after 12 weeks (p < 0.05) as compared to the HFD control. A more prominent effect was observed from the administration of DR7, where positive effects were observed, ranging from hepatic gene expressions to liver histology as compared to the control (p < 0.05); downregulation of hepatic lipid synthesis and β-oxidation gene stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), upregulation of hepatic sterol excretion genes of ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 5 and 8 (ABCG5 and ABCG8), lesser degree of liver steatosis, and upregulation of hepatic energy metabolisms genes AMPKα1 and AMPKα2. Taken altogether, this study illustrated that the administration of selected Lactobacillus strains led to improved lipid profiles via activation of energy and lipid metabolisms, suggesting the potentials of Lactobacillus as a promising natural intervention for alleviation of cardiovascular and liver diseases.
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are able to produce antimicrobial compounds to inhibit opportunisticwounding skin pathogen. The antimicrobial compounds produced are organic acids, putative bacteriocin, hydrogen peroxide, and diacetyl. Staphylococcus epidermidis is well-known as an opportunistic wounding skin pathogen in wound infections related to implanted medical devices.To screen 87 strains of LAB and 3 strains of bifidobacteria for antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis.Additionally, this study sought to determine and quantify types of antimicrobial compounds produced by LAB.Inhibitory activity of LAB and bifidobacteria on S. epidermidis was assessed with the spectrophotometric method using a 96-well microplate reader. Characterization of cell-free supernatant (CFS) was done using analytical methods. Lactobacillus fermentum (collected by the Bioprocess Department at the Universiti Sains Malaysia [BD]) 1912d, Lactobacillus casei BD 1415b, Lactobacillus fermentum BD 8313a, Pediococcus pentosaceus BD 1913b, and Weissella cibaria (collected by the Food Technology Department at the Universiti Sains Malaysia [FTDC]) 8643 with high percentage of inhibition (P < 0.05), ranging from 73.7% to 88.2%, as compared to the control, were selected for subsequent analyses. Upon neutralization, the antimicrobial activity showed a drastic drop (P < 0.05) in the percentage of inhibition. Concentrations of the inhibitive metabolites were produced in varying amounts and were strain dependent.Results demonstrated that lactic acid in all strains was produced in a more predominant amount than acetic acid. Protein concentration production ranged from 0.081-0.215 mg/mL. L. fermentum BD 1912d yielded as much as 0.014 mg/mL hydrogen peroxide, which was significantly higher than other strains studied. Diacetyl was produced in a higher concentration by Weissella cibaria FTDC 8643 at 2.884 ng/mL; the lowest concentration of 0.465 ng/mL was produced by Ped. pentosaceus BD 1913b.Antimicrobial metabolites from CFS of lactic acid bacteria were effective in repressing the growth of opportunistic wounding dermal pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis.
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