L. helveticus LBK-16H fermented milk containing bioactive peptides in normal daily use has a blood pressure-lowering effect in hypertensive subjects.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is important in the regulation of blood pressure (BP). Two tripeptides that inhibit ACE, isoleucyl-prolyl-proline (Ile-Pro-Pro) and valyl-prolyl-proline (Val-Pro-Pro), have been isolated from certain sour milks. The aim of the study reported was to evaluate the effect on BP in subjects with mild hypertension of a new sour milk containing tripeptides. The initial number of subjects was 60 (36 men, 24 women). Among the criteria for inclusion in the study were systolic BP (SBP) between 140 and 180 mmHg and/or diastolic BP (DPB) between 90 and 110 mmHg, without antihypertensive drug therapy. There were two study periods with a washout period between. All subjects were given 1.5 dl per day of a placebo (regular sour milk) or of the active product, a milk that had been fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus bacteria and contained 2.4-2.7 mg of Ile-Pro-Pro and 2.4-2.7 mg of Val-Pro-Pro per 1.5 dl. In the first phase, SBP fell 16 mmHg from baseline in the active group, 2 mmHg more than in the placebo group (P ¼ 0.0668) and no difference in DBP (P ¼ 0.92). There was a statistically significant downward trend both in SBP and DBP (P ¼ 0.0001). During the second phase, SBP fell 11 mmHg in the active group (P ¼ 0.008). The reduction in SBP was significantly larger in active than placebo group (P ¼ 0.012). In the crossover analysis combining both phases, SBP fell on average 2.6715.9 mmHg more on the active product compared with the placebo product, but this difference was not statistically significant (P ¼ 0.3111). The difference in DBP, 1.078.3 mmHg between the two test products was not significant either (P ¼ 0.4431). In conclusion, the ingestion of sour milk fermented by L. helveticus bacteria and that containing ACE inhibitory tripeptides seems to lower BP modestly.

It has been suggested that the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may be wrongly attributed to lactose intolerance. We examined the relations among IBS, demographic factors, living habits, and lactose intolerance. On the basis of a lactose tolerance test with ethanol, 101 of the 427 healthy subjects studied were lactose maldigesters and 326 were lactose digesters. IBS was diagnosed by means of the Bowel Disease Questionnaire, according to the Rome criteria. The use of dairy products and symptoms experienced after their consumption were recorded. IBS was found in 15% of both the lactose maldigesters and lactose digesters. One-third of the subjects reported intolerance to dairy products containing < or = 20 g lactose. About half of this third were lactose maldigesters and about half were lactose digesters. As explanations for this subjective lactose intolerance, the logistic regression model estimated lactose maldigestion (odds ratio: 10.3; 95% CI: 5.2, 20.4), IBS (4.6; 2.1, 10.1), experience of symptoms other than gastrointestinal ones (2.3; 1.2, 4.5), and female sex (2.1; 1.1, 4.0). Characteristics common to both subjective lactose intolerance and IBS were female sex and the experience of abdominal pain in childhood (P < 0.01). Age, regularity of meals, and the amount of physical activity were not associated with either subjective lactose intolerance or IBS. Of the subjects with IBS, the percentage of lactose maldigesters was the same as in the whole study group (24%) but the number who reported lactose intolerance was higher (60% compared with 27%, P < 0.001). We showed a strong relation among subjective lactose intolerance, IBS, the experience of abdominal pain in childhood, and female sex.

Both nutritional status and growth were well within reference values in the 2 groups, and the selection of a formula can largely be made on the basis of infant tolerance to the formulas.

These results imply that low-fat milk products enriched with plant stanol esters lower both total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol statistically significantly in subjects with mild or moderate hypercholesterolemia. The changes tended to relate to the baseline LDL-cholesterol concentration.

No abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a plant sterol mixture would reduce serum cholesterol when added to low fat dairy products in subjects with hypercholesterolaemia, and to examine the effects of the mixture on the serum plant sterol and fat-soluble vitamin levels. Design: A parallel, double-blind study. Setting: The study was performed in three different locations in Finland. Subjects: In total, 164 mildly or moderately hypercholesterolaemic subjects participated in the study. Methods: The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: a plant sterol group and a control group. The subjects consumed the products for 6 weeks after a 3-week run-in period. The targeted plant sterol intake was 2 g/day in the sterol group. Results: During the treatment period, there was a 6.5% reduction in serum total cholesterol in the sterol group while no change was observed in the control group (Po0.0005). Serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was reduced by 10.4% in the sterol group and by 0.6% in the control group (Po0.00005). There was no change during the trial in serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or triacylglycerol concentrations. The HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio increased by 16.1% in the sterol group and by 4.3% in the control group (P ¼ 0.0001). Serum plant sterol levels increased significantly (P ¼ 0.0001) in the sterol group. None of the fat-soluble vitamin levels decreased significantly when changes in serum total cholesterol were taken into account. The hypocholesterolaemic effect of sterol administration was not influenced by apolipoprotein E phenotype. Conclusions: Yoghurt, low-fat hard cheese and low-fat fresh cheese enriched with a plant sterol mixture reduced serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolaemic subjects and no adverse effects were noted in the dietary control of hypercholesterolaemia.

Both nutritional status and growth were well within reference values in the 2 groups, and the selection of a formula can largely be made on the basis of infant tolerance to the formulas.