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The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum MA2, an isolate from Chinese traditional Tibet kefir, on cholesterol-lowering and microflora of rat in vivo. Rats were fed on cholesterol-enriched experimental diet, supplemented with lyophilized L. plantarum MA2 powder, with a dose of 10(11) cells/day per mice. The results showed that L. plantarum MA2 feeding significantly lowered serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides level, while there was no change in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In addition, liver total cholesterol and triglycerides was also decreased. However, fecal cholesterol and triglycerides was increased significantly (P < 0.05) in comparison with the control. Also, L. plantarum MA2 increased the population of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in the fecal, but it did not change the number of Escherichia coli as compared to control. Moreover, pH, moisture, and organic acids in the fecal were also measured. The present results indicate the probiotic potential of the L. plantarum MA2 strain in hypocholesterolemic effect and also increasing the probiotic count in the intestine.

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Kefir and its related products are renowned nutraceutical dairy products produced through fermentation of yeasts and bacteria naturally present in grains of kefir. The nutritional attributes of this self-carbonated beverage are due to presence of vital nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and some nutraceutical components. Antimicrobial activity, better gut health, anticarcinogenic activity, control on serum glucose and cholesterol, control on lactose intolerance and better immune system can be achieved through its regular consumption. Moreover, on the one side kefir is good dietetic beverage, and of particular interest of athletes, and on the other side the whole kefir is good for feeding small babies and pre-schoolers for good tolerance against disease and quick weight gain. Lots of works have been done on kefir from a health point of view. This study summarizes all the data that have been compiled to date. The purpose of this review is to gather information about microbiological, chemical, nutritional, and therapeutic aspects of kefir and kefir-like products to provide justification for its consumption. This review leads us to conclude that kefir begins a new dawn of food for the mankind.

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Right-sided colon cancer (RCC) has worse prognosis compared to left-sided colon cancer (LCC) and rectal cancer. The reason for this difference in outcomes is not well understood. We performed comparative somatic and proteomic analyses of RCC, LCC and rectal cancers to understand the unique molecular features of each tumor sub-types. Utilizing a novel in silico clonal evolution algorithm, we identified common tumor-initiating events involving APC, KRAS and TP53 genes in RCC, LCC and rectal cancers. However, the individual role-played by each event, their order in tumor development and selection of downstream somatic alterations were distinct in all three anatomical locations. Some similarities were noted between LCC and rectal cancer. Hotspot mutation analysis identified a nonsense mutation, APC R1450* specific to RCC. In addition, we discovered new significantly mutated genes at each tumor location, Further in silico proteomic analysis, developed by our group, found distinct central or hub proteins with unique interactomes among each location. Our study revealed significant differences between RCC, LCC and rectal cancers not only at somatic but also at proteomic level that may have therapeutic relevance in these highly complex and heterogeneous tumors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-018-0923-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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