Immunomodulatory and Antioxidant Properties of a Novel Potential Probiotic Bacillus clausii CSI08.

Spore-forming bacteria of the Bacillus genus have demonstrated potential as probiotics for human use. Bacillus clausii have been recognized as efficacious and safe agents for preventing and treating diarrhea in children and adults, with pronounced immunomodulatory properties during several in vitro and clinical studies. Herein, we characterize the novel strain of B. clausii CSI08 (Munispore®) for probiotic attributes including resistance to gastric acid and bile salts, the ability to suppress the growth of human pathogens, the capacity to assimilate wide range of carbohydrates and to produce potentially beneficial enzymes. Both spores and vegetative cells of this strain were able to adhere to a mucous-producing intestinal cell line and to attenuate the LPS- and Poly I:C-triggered pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression in HT-29 intestinal cell line. Vegetative cells of B. clausii CSI08 were also able to elicit a robust immune response in U937-derived macrophages. Furthermore, B. clausii CSI08 demonstrated cytoprotective effects in in vitro cell culture and in vivo C. elegans models of oxidative stress. Taken together, these beneficial properties provide strong evidence for B. clausii CSI08 as a promising potential probiotic.

Supplementation with Two New Standardized Tea Extracts Prevents the Development of Hypertension in Mice with Metabolic Syndrome.

Hypertension is considered to be both a cardiovascular disease and a risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary ischemia or stroke. In many cases, hypertension occurs in the context of metabolic syndrome (MetS), a condition in which other circumstances such as abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance are also present. The high incidence of MetS makes necessary the search for new strategies, ideally of natural origin and with fewer side effects than conventional pharmacological treatments. Among them, the tea plant is a good candidate, as it contains several bioactive compounds such as caffeine, volatile terpenes, organic acids, and polyphenols with positive biological effects. The aim of this study was to assess whether two new standardized tea extracts, one of white tea (WTE) and the other of black and green tea (CTE), exert beneficial effects on the cardiovascular alterations associated with MetS. For this purpose, male C57/BL6J mice were fed a standard diet (Controls), a diet high in fats and sugars (HFHS), HFHS supplemented with 1.6% WTE, or HFHS supplemented with 1.6% CTE for 20 weeks. The chromatography results showed that CTE is more concentrated on gallic acid, xanthines and flavan-3-ols than WTE. In vivo, supplementation with WTE and CTE prevented the development of MetS-associated hypertension through improved endothelial function. This improvement was associated with a lower expression of proinflammatory and prooxidant markers, and-in the case of CTE supplementation-also with a higher expression of antioxidant enzymes in arterial tissue. In conclusion, supplementation with WTE and CTE prevents the development of hypertension in obese mice; as such, they could be an interesting strategy to prevent the cardiovascular disorders associated with MetS.