Fermentation of Sargassum thunbergii by Kimchi-Derived Lactobacillus sp. SH-1 Attenuates LPS-Stimulated Inflammatory Response Via Downregulation of JNK

The fermentative effect of Sargassum thunbergii by lactic acid bacteria on the inflammatory responses was evaluated in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The fermentation of S. thunbergii was carried out using isolated Lactobacillus sp. SH-1 at 30C for 2 days. As a result, we confirmed that the fermentation of S. thunbergii with Lactobacillus sp. SH-1 significantly inhibited LPS-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as important inflammatory factors. In comparing analysis, 85% aq. MeOH and nHexane fractions significantly inhibited NO production in a dose-dependent manner and suppressed expression of cytokines iNOS, COX-2, TNFɑ, IL-1β and IL-6. Therefore, effective suppression of proinflammatory cytokine indicated that the fermentation process using Lactobacillus sp. SH-1 may provide a beneficial effect on the bioactive compound content of the extract. Practical Applications S. thunbergii is a common edible algae known for its potential health benefits. Although several algae species are being utilized in functional food industry, necessity for wide spectrum of bioactivities as well as enhanced efficiency remains. Natural processing the functional food products in order to obtain enhanced and added potential is a method mainly preferred in nutraceutical field. In this study, fermentation of S. thunbergii with kimchi-derived bacteria was chosen for processing the alga and shown to enhance the anti-inflammatory effect, promoting the utilization of fermented algae as potential nutraceutical against inflammation.