Efficacy of oral administration of heat-killed probiotics from Mongolian dairy products against influenza infection in mice: alleviation of influenza infection by its immunomodulatory activity through intestinal immunity.

Some probiotics possess immunomodulatory activities and have been used as complementary and alternative medicines. We previously found that 10 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from traditional Mongolian dairy products showed probiotic potential in vitro. In this study, we assessed the immunomodulatory activity of 10 LABs on influenza virus (IFV) infection in relation to their efficacies in IFV-infected mice. In an intranasal IFV infection model in mice, oral administration of boiled Lactobacillus plantarum 06CC2 strain (20mg/mouse), one of the 10 LABs, twice daily for 10 days starting two days before infection was significantly effective in protecting the body weight loss of infected mice, reducing virus yields in the lungs on days 2, 4, and 6 after infection, and prolonging survival times without toxicity. The total numbers of infiltrated cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), especially macrophages and neutrophils, were significantly reduced by 06CC2 administration on day 2. On day 2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production in BALF was also reduced significantly, but interferon-α, interleukin-12, and interferon-γ productions were augmented and natural killer (NK) cell activity was significantly elevated. Furthermore, the gene expressions of interleukin-12 receptor and interferon-γ in Peyer's patches were augmented by 06CC2 administration on day 2. Thus, 06CC2 was suggested to alleviate influenza symptoms in mice in correlation with the augmentation of NK cell activity associated with the enhancement of interferon-α and Th1 cytokine productions through intestinal immunity and the reduction of TNF-α in the early stage of infection.

A review of meat protein hydrolysates and hypertension.

We tested the hypothesis that meat is a source of peptides that are effective at preventing and reducing chronic lifestyle-related diseases (CLSRDs) such as hypertension. This analysis reflects the importance of empowering hypertensive people in quality versus quantity of life issues, and in offering nutritional treatment options rather than medical alternatives. For both hypertensive and normotensive individuals, chemically based medications may have harmful side effects. Functional food rich in antioxidant vitamins, and proteins or biologically active peptides, can lower blood pressure in persons with essential hypertension, possibly by preventing an underlying cause of the condition. Deficiency in consumption of crucial nutrients such as proteins from meat origins, along with abnormalities in carbohydrate and fat metabolism, may underlie the etiology of the clinical course of hypertension. Food derived from meat rich in nutrients may provide physiologically functional peptides, as well as improve digestion, and the metabolism of carbohydrate and fats, thus lowering blood pressure, and normalizing associated biochemical and histopathological changes. Meat was found to have value, because proteolysis of meat muscle generated a substantial number of multi-amino acid peptides that have nutrafunctional roles, and some of which have strong angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitory activity. This also demonstrates that meat proteins might lead to better nutraceutical therapy that minimizes health problems, and might aid in finding the most effective approaches for meeting the needs of all hypertension patients.

Effects of dietary supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid on fatty acid composition and lipid oxidation in chicken breast meat.

We investigated the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on fatty acid composition and lipid oxidation in breast meat of broiler chickens. Broiler chickens (28-day-old females) were fed diets containing experimental oils at 20 g/kg diet for 28 days. The experimental oils consisted of either a 2:0, 1:1, or a 0:2 (wt : wt) ratio of safflower oil (high linoleic acid content) to a commercial CLA mixture. In this study, dietary CLA supplementation significantly increased the composition and content of CLA in chicken meat. The predominant CLA in meat from birds with supplemented diets was the cis-9, trans-11 isomer. The proportion of saturated fatty acid in meat significantly increased with increasing CLA supplementation, with a corresponding decrease in monounsaturated fatty acid. Dietary CLA also reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in raw meat during storage at 4 degrees C for 5 days. These results provide evidence that CLA feeding is a practical strategy not only for adding nutritional benefits to chicken meat but also for improving meat quality including oxidative stability.