Lactobacillus acidophilus regulates abnormal serotonin availability in experimental ulcerative colitis.

OBJECTIVES: Probiotics are known to play a beneficial role in curing irritable bowel syndrome such as ulcerative colitis. Commensal Lactobacillus species are thought to play a protective role against ulcerative colitis, as they restore homeostasis in intestinal disorders. Abnormal serotonin availability has been described in ulcerative colitis, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory role of Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) and its effect on serotonin expression. METHODS: Ulcerative colitis was created with the intrarectal administration of acetic acid. A total of 40 adult male rats were divided into five groups of eight rats as control, sham, experimental colitis, treatment (Colitis + L. acidophilus) and protective group (L. acidophilus + colitis). To evaluate the effects of L. acidophilus on serotonin expression in ulcerative colitis, this bacterial strain was administered orally to the rats with acetic acid-induced colitis. After oral administration of L. acidophilus for 14 days, serotonin content was biochemically measured and serotonin expression was evaluated immunohistochemically. RESULTS: The expression of serotonin and its protein content was significantly increased in colitis compared to the control and sham groups. Abnormal serotonin availability in the rats with acetic acid-induced colitis was significantly reduced by the L. acidophilus. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, it was observed that the amount of serotonin in the intestinal tissue increased excessively with ulcerative colitis. In addition, L.acidophilus has been found to reduce the abnormally increased amount of serotonin in the colon tissue, as well as reduce the inflammation in the intestinal tissue that occurs with ulcerative colitis. With our findings, it is predicted that probiotic application can be used as a treatment option in ulcerative colitis.

Production of milks and kefir beverages from nuts and certain physicochemical analysis.

Cashew, hazelnut, peanut, walnut, and almond were used to make nut milk and kefir in this study. Kefir starter culture was used to ferment cow and nut milks. Kefir samples were kept at 4 °C for 30 days and examined on the 1st, 15th, and 30th days. The highest energy contents were determined in hazelnut milk (73.71 kcal/100 g) and kefir made from hazelnut milk (74.89 kcal/100 g). During storage, the total sugar, total organic acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents of kefir samples decreased, whereas the saturated fatty acid content and pH value increased. The unsaturated fatty acid content of nuts milk and respective kefir was higher than cow's milk and kefir made from cow's milk, while the saturated fatty acid level was lower. Volatiles, ethanol, and ethyl acetate, which were shown to be dominating among the aroma components, were highest in kefir made from cow's milk.

Probiotics in Experimental Ulcerative Colitis: Mast Cell Density and Neuronal Hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: Probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are among the supportive treatment methods to achieve effective results in ulcerative colitis. This study was established to investigate the effect of probiotics in experimental ulcerative colitis and to detect changes in mast cell and neuronal structures in this treatment method. METHODS: A total of 48 adult male rats were used to study the effects of probiotics on ulcerative colitis. The animals were divided into 6 groups as control, experimental colitis, and four probiotic protective groups. Three different bacterial strains were administered to the protective groups individually and in combination by gavage. PGP 9.5 antibody and mast cell tryptase were used for the detection of neuronal structures and mast cells. The number of Schwann cells and ganglia, size measurements of ganglia, and density of mast cells were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared to the control, an increase in the number of mast cells was detected in all groups. Especially the increase in the num- ber of mast cells was found to be statistically significant in combined probiotic administration. In the detection of neuronal structures, a significant increase in the number of Schwann cells and ganglia was detected in groups where probiotics were administered combined and individually. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that probiotics may play a role in the supporting effect of increasing the number of mast cells and neuronal structures, protecting the intestinal wall. We think that more specific and detailed studies should be conducted to evaluate the protective/therapeutic effect of probiotics in future studies.

In vitro gastrointestinal resistance of Lactobacillus acidophilus in some dairy products.

In this study, different dairy products such as ice cream, yoghurt, white pickled cheese, and fermented acidophilus milk were manufactured by using either Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20,079 or Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM. The counts of L. acidophilus in the samples on days 1, 15, and 30 of the storage were determined. Additionally, the samples contained L. acidophilus were passed through a dynamic gastrointestinal model designed in laboratory conditions to compare the protective effect of different dairy products on viability of L. acidophilus against stress factors of the gastrointestinal model. The counts of L. acidophilus NCFM and L. acidophilus DSM 20,079 in the samples decreased by between 0.04 and 0.37 log units and by between 0.11 and 0.27 log units, respectively, within 30 days of storage. During the passage through the gastrointestinal model, the highest percentage reduction in the counts of L. acidophilus was determined in yoghurt followed by fermented acidophilus milk, white pickled cheese, and ice cream, respectively. The reduction in the counts of L. acidophilus in the samples during the passage through the model increased with extension of storage time. The results of this study showed that the reduction in the counts L. acidophilus in the samples during the passage through the model was influenced significantly by the matrix of the dairy product and storage period.

Evaluation of bone metabolism in newborn twins using quantitative ultrasound and biochemical parameters.

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) is one of the important complications of prematurity. Early and adequate nutritional interventions may reduce the incidence and potential complications of MBD. The present study aimed to evaluate bone metabolism in twins via biochemical parameters and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and to compare the results between twin pairs. Moreover, twin infants were evaluated in terms of potential risk factors likely to have impact on MBD. Forty-three pairs of twins were included in the study. Serum calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and alkaline phosphatase concentrations were assessed and bone mineral density was measured using QUS (speed of sound, SOS) at postnatal 30 d. Co-twin with the higher birth weight was assigned to Group 1 (n = 36) and the other twin was assigned to Group 2 (n = 36). Birth weight and head circumference were significantly higher in the infants of Group 1 compared with Group 2. No significant difference was found among the groups in terms of gender, history of resuscitation, length of stay in intensive care unit (ICU) or in the incubator, duration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), type of nutrition, vitamin D use, biochemical parameters, and the SOS value. The factors likely to affect SOS, including type of pregnancy, maternal drug use, gender of infant, birth weight, head circumference at birth, gestational week, length of stay at the ICU, duration of TPN, type of nutrition, resuscitation, vitamin D use, and levels of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and alkaline phosphatase were entered into the model. The phosphorus level and the maternal drug use were found to be the factors that significantly reduced SOS, whereas pregnancy after assisted reproductive techniques was found to be a significant enhancing factor.