Lacticaseibacillus Casei IDCC 3451 Strengthen Digestibility of Plant-based Proteins in Mice.

The demand for plant-based proteins as alternative meat sources continues to increase because of environmental concerns, animal welfare, and religious reasons. However, plant-based proteins have low digestibility than real meat, which should be overcome. In the present study, the effect of co-administration of legumin protein mixture and the probiotic strain on plasma concentration of amino acids was investigated as a strategy of enhancement in protein digestion. First, the proteolytic activity of the four probiotic strains was compared. As a result, Lacticaseibacillus casei IDCC 3451 was identified as an optimal probiotic strain that efficiently digested the legumin protein mixture by forming the largest halo produced by proteolysis. Next, to investigate whether the co-administration of legumin protein mixture and L. casei IDCC 3451 could synergically improve digestibility, mice were fed either a high-protein diet or a high-protein diet with L. casei IDCC 3451 for 8 weeks. Compared to only in the high-protein diet only group, the concentrations of branched chain amino acids and essential amino acids were 1.36 and 1.41 times higher in the co-administered group, respectively. Therefore, co-supplementation of plant-based proteins with L. casei IDCC 3451 can be suggested to improve protein digestibility based on the this study.

Potential of Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301 isolated from breast milk-fed infant feces as a probiotic and functional ingredient.

Probiotics provide important health benefits to the host by improving intestinal microbial balance and have been widely consumed as dietary supplements. In this study, we investigated whether Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301 (BL), isolated from feces of breast milk-fed infants, is safe to consume. Based on the guidelines established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), safety tests such as antibiotic susceptibility, hemolysis, toxic compound formation (i.e., biogenic amine and d-lactate), single-dose acute oral toxicity, and extracellular enzymatic activities were performed. In addition, toxigenic genes, antibiotic resistance genes, and mobile genetic elements were investigated by analyzing the genome sequence of BL. BL was susceptible to eight antibiotics except for vancomycin and the absence of transferable resistance in the genome of this strain implied that vancomycin resistance is likely to be intrinsic. With regard to phenotypic characteristics, there was no concern of toxicity of this strain. Furthermore, BL utilized various carbohydrates and their conjugates through the activity of various endogenous carbohydrate-utilizing enzymes. Interestingly, the supernatant of the BL showed strong antipathogenic activity against various infectious pathogens. Therefore, we suggest that BL should be a safe probiotic and can be used as a functional ingredient in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

Red ginseng dietary fiber promotes probiotic properties of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and alters bacterial metabolism.

Korean red ginseng has been widely used as an herbal medicine. Red ginseng dietary fiber (RGDF) is a residue of the processed ginseng product but still contains bioactive constituents that can be applied as prebiotics. In this study, we evaluated changes on fermentation profiles and probiotic properties of strains that belong to family Lactobacillaceae with RGDF supplementation. Metabolomic analyses were performed to understand specific mechanisms on the metabolic alteration by RGDF and to discover novel bioactive compounds secreted by the RGDF-supplemented probiotic strain. RGDF supplementation promoted short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, carbon source utilization, and gut epithelial adhesion of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and inhibited attachment of enteropathogens. Intracellular and extracellular metabolome analyses revealed that RGDF induced metabolic alteration, especially associated with central carbon metabolism, and produced RGDF-specific metabolites secreted by L. plantarum, respectively. Specifically, L. plantarum showed decreases in intracellular metabolites of oleic acid, nicotinic acid, uracil, and glyceric acid, while extracellular secretion of several metabolites including oleic acid, 2-hydroxybutanoic acid, hexanol, and butyl acetate increased. RGDF supplementation had distinct effects on L. plantarum metabolism compared with fructooligosaccharide supplementation. These findings present potential applications of RGDF as prebiotics and bioactive compounds produced by RGDF-supplemented L. plantarum as novel postbiotic metabolites for human disease prevention and treatment.

Increased Amino Acid Absorption Mediated by Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus IDCC 3201 in High-Protein Diet-Fed Mice.

The use of dietary protein products has increased with interests in health promotion, and demand for sports supplements. Among various protein sources, milk protein is one of the most widely employed, given its economic and nutritional advantages. However, recent studies have revealed that milk protein undergoes fecal excretion without complete hydrolysis in the intestines. To increase protein digestibility, heating and drying were implemented; however, these methods reduce protein quality by causing denaturation, aggregation, and chemical modification of amino acids. In the present study, we observed that Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus IDCC 3201 actively secretes proteases that hydrolyze milk proteins. Furthermore, we showed that co-administration of milk proteins and L. rhamnosus IDCC 3201 increased the digestibility and plasma concentrations of amino acids in a high-protein diet mouse model. Thus, food supplementation of L. rhamnosus IDCC 3201 can be an alternative strategy to increase the digestibility of proteins.

Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301 Exerts Anti-Obesity Effects in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice Model by Regulating Lipid Metabolism.

SCOPE: Chronic hypernutrition promotes lipid accumulation in the body and excessive lipid accumulation leads to obesity. An increase in the number and size of adipocytes, a characteristic of obesity is closely associated with adipose dysfunction. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that probiotics may prevent this dysfunction by regulating lipid metabolism. However, the mechanisms of action of probiotics in obesity are not fully understood and their usage for treating obesity remains limited. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301 is selected for its anti-obesity potential after evaluating inhibitory activity of pancreatic lipase and cholesterol reducing activity. Next, this study investigates the roles of B. lactis IDCC 4301 on lipid metabolism in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. B. lactis IDCC 4301 inhibits cell differentiation and lipid accumulation by suppressing the expression of adipogenic enzymes in 3T3-L1 cells. Moreover, the administration of B. lactis IDCC 4301 decreases body and adipose tissue weight, improves serum lipid levels, and downregulates adipogenic mRNA expression in HFD-fed mice. Additionally, metabolomic analysis suggests that 2-ketobutyrate should be a possible target compound against obesity. CONCLUSIONS: B. lactis IDCC 4301 may be used as an alternative treatment for obesity.

Isolation, Characterization, and Safety Evaluation of the Novel Probiotic Strain Lacticaseibacillus paracasei IDCC 3401 via Genomic and Phenotypic Approaches.

This study aimed to explore the safety and properties of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei IDCC 3401 as a novel probiotic strain via genomic and phenotypic analyses. In whole-genome sequencing, the genes associated with antibiotic resistance and virulence were not detected in this strain. The minimum inhibitory concentration test revealed that L. paracasei IDCC 3401 was susceptible to all the antibiotics tested, except for kanamycin. Furthermore, the strain did not produce toxigenic compounds, such as biogenic amines and D-lactate, nor did it exhibit significant toxicity in a single-dose acute oral toxicity test in rats. Phenotypic characterization of carbohydrate utilization and enzymatic activities indicated that L. paracasei IDCC 3401 can utilize various nutrients, allowing it to grow in deficient conditions and produce health-promoting metabolites. The presence of L. paracasei IDCC 3401 supernatants significantly inhibited the growth of enteric pathogens (p < 0.05). In addition, the adhesion ability of L. paracasei IDCC 3401 to intestinal epithelial cells was found to be as superior as that of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG. These results suggest that L. paracasei IDCC 3401 is safe for consumption and provides health benefits to the host.

Safety evaluation and anti-inflammatory activity of Lactobacillus johnsonii IDCC 9203 isolated from feces of breast-fed infants.

This study evaluated the safety of Lactobacillus johnsonii IDCC 9203 and investigated its anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. Genomic analysis revealed that this strain has no virulence and antibiotic resistance gene except tetW, which is a tetracycline resistance gene. Minimum inhibitory concentration data showed that the strain is resistant to tetracycline and aminoglycosides. Further analysis indicated that the transferability of the tetW gene is extremely low, and resistance to aminoglycosides is due to the intrinsic resistance of L. johnsonii IDCC 9203. Phenotypic safety assessment showed that the strain has neither ß-hemolytic nor ß-glucuronidase activity, and no biogenic amine production. When LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells were treated with L. johnsonii IDCC 9203, the level of nitric oxide and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Therefore, L. johnsonii IDCC 9203 strain is considered as safe and beneficial probiotic for human consumption.