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Bifidobacteria are considered one of the most beneficial probiotics and have been widely studied for their effects against specific pathogens. The present study investigated the antiviral activity of probiotics isolated from Koreans against Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). The effect of probiotic isolates against CVB3 was measured by the plaque assay and cellular toxicity of bifidobacteria in HeLa cells was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Among 13 probiotic isolates, 3 Bifidobacterium adolescentis, 2 Bifidobacterium longum and 1 Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum had an antiviral effect against CVB3, while the others did not show such effect. B. adolescentis SPM1605 showed the greatest inhibitory properties against CVB3. When the threshold cycle (CT) values for the treated B. adolescentis SPM1605 samples were compared to the results for the non-treated samples, it was shown that the amplified viral sequences from the CVB3 had their copy number lowered by B. adolescentis SPM1605. Moreover, the gene expression in infected HeLa cells was also inhibited by 50%. The results suggest that B. adolescentis SPM1605 suppresses CVB3 and could be used as an alternative therapy against infectious diseases caused by coxsackieviruses.

BackgroundRecent studies have reported the preventive effects of probiotics on obesity. Among commensal bacteria, bifidobacteria is one of the most numerous probiotics in the mammalian gut and are a type of lactic acid bacteria. The aim of this study was to assess the antiobesity and lipid‐lowering effects of Bifidobacterium spp. isolated from healthy Korean on high fat diet‐induced obese rats.MethodsThirty‐six male Sprague‐Dawley rats were divided into three groups as follows: (1) SD group, fed standard diet; (2) HFD group, fed high fat diet; and (3) HFD‐LAB group, fed high fat diet supplemented with LAB supplement (B. pseudocatenulatum SPM 1204, B. longum SPM 1205, and B. longum SPM 1207; 108 ~ 109 CFU). After 7 weeks, the body, organ, and fat weights, food intake, blood serum levels, fecal LAB counts, and harmful enzyme activities were measured.ResultsAdministration of LAB reduced body and fat weights, blood serum levels (TC, HDL‐C, LDL‐C, triglyceride, glucose, leptin, AST, ALT, and lipase levels), and harmful enzyme activities (β‐glucosidase, β‐glucuronidase, and tryptophanase), and significantly increased fecal LAB counts.ConclusionThese data suggest that Bifidobacterium spp. used in this study may have beneficial antiobesity effects.

Bifidobacteria are considered one of the most beneficial probiotics and have been widely studied for their effects against specific pathogenes. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a member of the Picornaviridae and is responsible for a wide variety of mild or severe infections including acute and chronic inflammations. The present study investigated the antiviral activity of bifidobacteria isolated from healthy Koreans against CVB3. The plaque reduction assay has been accepted as the ‘gold standard’ for settling the antiviral activity of materials against these viruses. So the effect of bifidobacteria isolates against CVB3 was measured by the plaque reduction assay. And cellular toxicity of bifidobacteria in Hela cell was measured using 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐ diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Among 16 probiotics isolates (9 Bifidobacterium adolecentis, 3 B. longum, 2 B. pseudocatenulatum and 2 Lactobacillus ruminis), 4 B. adolescentis and 2 B. longum had the antiviral effect against CVB3, but the others did not show this effect. Furthermore, B. adolescentis SPM1605 showed the highest inhibitory effect against CVB3 among 6 probiotics possess antiviral activity. And this strain did not affect the viability of Hela cell. The results suggest that this B. adolescentis SPM1605 suppress CVB3 expression and could be potential application for alternative therapy of infectious disease by coxsackievirus.

Bifidobacterium longum SPM1205 isolated from Korean feces inhibited the activity of fecal harmful enzymes of rat. Therefore, the current study was to measure the possibility of B. longum SPM1205 to obtain a curd‐type soy‐based yogurt with respect to a curd formation, proximate composition and sensory attributes and then to examine the changes in pH, lactic acid, and lactic acid bacteria during cold storage. B. longum SPM1205 was capable of producing moderate sour taste and good overall acceptability in curd type of plain soy‐based yogurt for 8 hours. Most sensory qualities were not significantly different in the strawberry soy‐based yogurt compared to those of commercial milk‐based yogurt. The pH of strawberry soy‐based yogurt was significantly (P<0.05) decreased in days of storage (day 0; 5.18, day 1; 4.80), but slowed down after 3 days of storage. The lactic acid content and lactic acid bacteria population of plain and strawberry soy‐based yogurt were not significantly changed over 10 days of storage. The products contained over 8 log of viable lactic acid bacteria. The results provide a feasibility that a curd‐type soy‐based yogurt can be manufactured using B. longum SPM1205. However, more experiments are needed to improve the sensory qualities such as beany or astringent flavor and color.