Hepatoprotective Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DSR330 in Mice with High Fat Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DSR330 (DSR330) has been examined for its antimicrobials production and probiotics. In this study, the hepatoprotective effects of DSR330 were examined against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a high-fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL/6 mouse model. To induce the development of fatty liver, a HFD was administered for five weeks, and then silymarin (positive control) or DSR330 (108 or 109 CFU/day) was administered along with the HFD for seven weeks. DSR330 significantly decreased body weight and altered serum and hepatic lipid profiles, including a reduction in triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels compared to those in the HFD group. DSR330 significantly alleviated HFD-related hepatic injury by inducing morphological changes and reducing the levels of biomarkers, including AST, ALT, and ALP. Additionally, DSR330 alleviated the expression of SREBP-1c, ACC1, FAS, ACO, PPARα, and CPT-1 in liver cells. Insulin and leptin levels were decreased by DSR330 compared to those observed in the HFD group. However, adiponectin levels were increased, similar to those observed in the ND group. These results demonstrate that L. plantarum DSR330 inhibited HFD-induced hepatic steatosis in mice with NAFLD by modulating various signaling pathways. Hence, the use of probiotics can lead to hepatoprotective effects.

Probiotic Lactobacilli ameliorate alcohol-induced hepatic damage via gut microbial alteration.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which includes fatty liver, cirrhosis, steatosis, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, is a global health problem. The probiotic effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well-known; however, their protective effect against ALD remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, our objective was to assess the protective effects of LAB on ALD. To this end, mice were fed either a normal diet or an alcohol diet for 10 days (to induce ALD) accompanied by vehicle treatment (the NC and AC groups) or kimchi-derived LAB (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DSR J266 and Levilactobacillus brevis DSR J301, the AL group; or Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, the AG group). Our results showed that mice in the AC group showed significantly higher serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels than those in the normal diet groups; however, their levels in the AL and AG groups were relatively lower. We also observed that the AL and AG groups showed relatively lower interleukin-6 levels than the AC group. Additionally, AC group showed the accumulation of several fat vesicles in the liver, while the AL and AG groups showed remarkably lower numbers of fat vesicles. The relative abundance of Enterococcus feacalis, which showed association with liver injury, significantly increased in the AC group compared with its levels in the normal diet groups. However, the AG group showed a decreased relative abundance in this regard, confirming that LAB exerted an improvement effect on gut microbial community. These findings suggested that via gut microbiota alteration, the ingestion of LAB can alleviate the ill effects of alcohol consumption, including inflammation, liver damage, gut dysbiosis, and abnormal intestinal nutrient metabolism.

Development of Anti-inflammatory Probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri EFEL6901 as Kimchi Starter: in vitro and In vivo Evidence.

The use of probiotic starters can improve the sensory and health-promoting properties of fermented foods. In this study, we developed an anti-inflammatory probiotic starter, Limosilactobacillus reuteri EFEL6901, for use in kimchi fermentation. The EFEL6901 strain was safe for use in foods and was stable under human gastrointestinal conditions. In in vitro experiments, EFEL6901 cells adhered well to colonic epithelial cells and decreased nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages. In in vivo experiments, oral administration of EFEL6901 to DSS-induced colitis mice models significantly alleviated the observed colitis symptoms, prevented body weight loss, lowered the disease activity index score, and prevented colon length shortening. Analysis of these results indicated that EFEL6901 played a probiotic role by preventing the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, improving gut barrier function, and up-regulating the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids. In addition, EFEL6901 made a fast growth in a simulated kimchi juice and it synthesized similar amounts of metabolites in nabak-kimchi comparable to a commercial kimchi. This study demonstrates that EFEL6901 can be used as a suitable kimchi starter to promote gut health and product quality.

Suitability Analysis of 17 Probiotic Type Strains of Lactic Acid Bacteria as Starter for Kimchi Fermentation.

The use of probiotic starters can improve the sensory and health-promoting properties of fermented foods. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as a starter for kimchi fermentation. Seventeen probiotic type strains were tested for their growth rates, volatile aroma compounds, metabolites, and sensory characteristics of kimchi, and their characteristics were compared to those of Leuconostoc (Le.) mesenteroides DRC 1506, a commercial kimchi starter. Among the tested strains, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, and Ligilactobacillus salivarius exhibited high or moderate growth rates in simulated kimchi juice (SKJ) at 37 °C and 15 °C. When these five strains were inoculated in kimchi and metabolite profiles were analyzed during fermentation using GC/MS and 1H-NMR, data from the principal component analysis (PCA) showed that L. fermentum and L. reuteri were highly correlated with Le. mesenteroides in concentrations of sugar, mannitol, lactate, acetate, and total volatile compounds. Sensory test results also indicated that these three strains showed similar sensory preferences. In conclusion, L. fermentum and L. reuteri can be considered potential candidates as probiotic starters or cocultures to develop health-promoting kimchi products.

Mixture of Two Lactobacillus plantarum Strains Modulates the Gut Microbiota Structure and Regulatory T Cell Response in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

SCOPE: The gut microbiota has been linked to diet-induced obesity, and microorganisms that influence obesity have important health implications. In this study, the anti-obesity effects of two Lactobacillus plantarum strains (DSR M2 and DSR 920) isolated from kimchi are investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mice are fed a normal or high-fat diet with or without DSR M2 and DSR 920 (DSR, 1 × 109 CFU d-1 ) for 12 weeks. DSR improves the obesity state, as evidenced by the i) suppressed obesity-related markers, e.g., gains in body weight and fat mass, ii) reduced serum and liver triglyceride levels, iii) upregulated ß-oxidation and downregulated lipogenesis-related genes in the liver, iv) reduced serum leptin levels, v) altered microbial communities, vi) increased regulatory T cell immunity, and vii) suppressed inflammatory response. In addition, correlation analysis shows that Akkermansia muciniphila and the genus Anaerostipes, which are increased in the DSR group, are negatively correlated with obesity-related markers, but Mucispirillum schaedleri, which is increased in the high-fat-diet (HFD) group, is positively correlated with serum leptin level. CONCLUSION: Lactobacillus plantarum DSR M2 and DSR 920 are candidate probiotics for the prevention and amelioration of obesity.

A proposal of Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. jonggajibkimchii subsp. nov. and reclassification of Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. suionicum (Gu et al., 2012) as Leuconostoc suionicum sp. nov. based on complete genome sequences.

The type strains of four subspecies of Leuconostocmesenteroides, L. mesenteroidessubsp. mesenteroides, L. mesenteroidessubsp. cremoris, L. mesenteroidessubsp. dextranicum and L. mesenteroidessubsp. suionicum, and strain DRC1506T, used as a starter culture for commercial kimchi production in Korea, were phylogenetically analyzed on the basis of their complete genome sequences. Although the type strains of the four L. mesenteroides subspecies and strain DRC1506T shared very high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (>99.72 %), the results of analysis of average nucleotide identity (ANI), in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH) and core-genome-based relatedness indicated that they could form five different phylogenetic lineages. The type strains of L. mesenteroidessubsp. mesenteroides, L. mesenteroidessubsp. cremoris and L. mesenteroidessubsp. dextranicum and DRC1506T shared higher ANI and in silico DDH values than the thresholds (95-96 % and 70 %, respectively) generally accepted for different species delineation, whereas the type strain of L. mesenteroidessubsp. suionicum (DSM 20241T) shared lower ANI (<94.1 %) and in silico DDH values (<57.0 %) with the other four L. mesenteroides lineage strains, indicating that DSM 20241T couldn be reclassified as representing a different species. Here, we report that DRC1506T represents a novel subspecies within the species Leuconostoc mesenteroides, for which the name Leuconostoc mesenteroidessubsp. jonggajibkimchii subsp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DRC1506T (=KCCM 43249T=JCM 31787T). In addition, L. mesenteroidessubsp. suionicum is also reclassified as Leuconostoc suionicum. sp. nov. (type strain DSM 20241T=ATCC 9135T=LMG 8159T=NCIMB 6992T).