Dietary exposure to heavy metals may have detrimental effects on human and animal health, even at low concentrations. Specific probiotic bacteria may have properties that enable them to bind toxins from food and water. We assessed the interaction of probiotic bacteria with cadmium and lead in vitro as an initial screening step to identify strains for heavy metal decontamination in food and intestinal models. Binding isotherms for cadmium and lead were characterized for Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC-705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS and a mix of them used by the food industry. Differences among the strains and their combinations in binding performance at a range of concentrations between 0.1 and 100 mg.L-1 were evaluated with the Langmuir model for biosorption. The effects of pH, contact time, and viability on the binding capacities were also investigated. All strains and their combinations were found to bind cadmium and lead efficiently at low concentration ranges commonly observed in foods. However, the two strains and their combinations differed significantly in their maximum binding capacities and affinities represented by the Langmuir constants Qmax and b, respectively. The binding seemed to occur instantaneously and in a pH-dependent manner, which can be perfectly described by a segmented linear-plateau model.
Oral intake of specific probiotics has been reported to enhance the immunity of the elderly. Earlier studies have used milk or yoghurt as a probiotic carrier. We chose a commercial probiotic cheese to evaluate its potential as a probiotic food. Thirty-one healthy elderly volunteers (21 female, 10 male) aged from 72 to 103 (median 86) consumed a commercial probiotic cheese containing approximately 10(9) CFU day(-1) of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM. The 4-week probiotic intervention was preceded by a 2-week consumption of probiotic-free cheese (run-in) and followed by a 4-week wash-out period with the same control cheese. The cytotoxicity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), the relative numbers of natural killer (NK) and NKT cells in the total PBMCs, and phagocytic activity were assessed. Consumption of the probiotic cheese significantly increased the cytotoxicity of NK cells. A significant increase in phagocytosis was observed for both the control and the probiotic cheese. Cheese was found to be an effective carrier for the study of probiotics, and daily consumption of the probiotic enhanced parameters of innate immunity in elderly volunteers. It remains to be determined whether this enhancement correlates with a beneficial effect on the health of the elderly population.
As fish are poikilothermic animals, i.e. the temperature of their body is dependent on the external environment, we aimed to investigate the effect of temperature on the in vitro adhesive ability of potential fish probiotics. The tested strains were Bifidobacterium animalis Bb12, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, L. rhamnosus LC 705, L. rhamnosus LCR 1/83 and Enterococcus faecium M74. The in vitro adhesive ability of the five strains to two types of rainbow trout mucus (skin and intestinal mucus) was determined at temperatures ranging from 48C to 258C. Three of the tested strains, B. animalis Bb12, L. rhamnosus GG and L. rhamnosus LCR 1/83, showed high adhesion to both types of mucus at all temperatures studied (19 Á/30% and 11 Á/29% of the added bacteria to skin and intestinal mucus, respectively). The adhesive abilities of the remaining strains were low in comparison with the above-mentioned group at all temperatures tested (3 Á/10% and 2 Á/19% to skin and intestinal mucus, respectively). In the case of skin mucus, three strains showed significant differences in adhesion depending on the incubation temperature, while two strains exhibited significant temperature-related differences in adhesion to intestinal mucus. The quartic polynomial fit was the best model to describe the changes in the adhesive ability related to the temperature changes. In conclusion, in order to optimize probiotic functionality in aquaculture, the dose may have to be adjusted with regard to the water temperature.
Research suggests that a diet rich in fibre is strongly correlated with improvement in bowel functioning and satiety induction (1) . Despite the considerable variety of fibre-rich foods available, it is alarming that a significant number of individuals' intake is considerably lower than the recommended level recently advised by SACN (30 g/day) (2) . However, as dietary fibre comes from various sources with somewhat varying chemical composition, this study aimed to investigate the effect of fibre source by examining three types, namely, psyllium husk, flaxseed, and chia seeds in equal amounts on bowel function and satiety.Within a pre-post repeated measure design, 18 participants were randomly assigned into three groups. Each group was provided with a different fibre source for consumption (5 g of fibre) in its natural form; daily for seven consecutive days. All participants were required to complete an evaluation questionnaire for two weeks where satiety index and parameters of bowel functioning were assessed. Parameters of bowel functions were weekly bowel movement, Bristol stool scale score, and bowel function index (taking into account; ease of defecation, bowel evacuation and perceived constipation) (3) . During week 1, participants were asked to maintain their normal diet (baseline) and during week 2, participants were asked to consume the provided fibre source with breakfast (treatment).Analysis of Variance for the change to the baseline followed by Tukey test for multiple comparisons was performed using SPSS version 19. A statistically significant difference (P < 0·05) in Bristol stool scale score was found, indicating that psyllium husk was more effective than flaxseed whereas chia seed was not significantly different from psyllium husk. Overall, positive trends suggested that all three fibres led to improvement in bowel function and satiety; however psyllium husk presented the greatest mean change for the majority of parameters measured.These findings suggest that fibre intake has a positive effect on satiety and bowel function, reinforcing the importance of fibre intake, whilst appreciating that not all fibres work the same on bowel functioning. Additionally, the findings also highlight the rapid effects of fibre on bowel movement (within seven days clinically positive outcomes were experienced by several participants).
Functional bowel disorders (FBDs) affect around 20% of the population worldwide and are associated with reduced quality of life and high healthcare costs. Dietary therapies are frequently implemented to assist with symptom relief in these individuals, however, there are concerns regarding their complexity, restrictiveness, nutritional adequacy, and effectiveness. Thus, to overcome these limitations, a novel approach, the 5Ad Dietary Protocol, was designed and tested for its efficacy in reducing the severity of a range of gastrointestinal symptoms in 22 subjects with FBDs. The protocol was evaluated in a repeated measures MANOVA design (baseline week and intervention week). Measures of stool consistency and frequency were subtyped based on the subject baseline status. Significant improvements were seen in all abdominal symptom measures (p < 0.01). The effect was independent of body mass index (BMI), age, gender, physical activity level, and whether or not the subjects were formally diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) prior to participation. Stool consistency and frequency also improved in the respective contrasting subtypes. The 5Ad Dietary Protocol proved to be a promising universal approach for varying forms and severities of FBDs. The present study paves the way for future research encompassing a longer study duration and the exploration of underlying physiological mechanisms.
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