•Patients in probiotic and placebo group reported improvement in LI-symptoms.•Beneficial effect of probiotic product over placebo was not demonstrated.•High placebo effect and variability in ...symptoms/breath test results were observed.•Probiotic product tended to have a significant lowering effect on diarrhoea.•Results suggest subject-specific effects of the probiotic product in LI-patients.
The data on the efficacy of probiotics in lactose intolerance (LI) management are limited, and clinical trials are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a probiotic product in LI individuals. Altogether, 44 patients (test=22, placebo=22) were randomized and the probiotic product or placebo was administered for 6weeks. LI symptoms trended towards improvement in both groups with no significant differences in between groups suggesting a strong placebo effect in symptoms severity perception. Comparing baseline scores with the scores after the supplementation and 2weeks follow-up period within groups, the consumption of the probiotic product tended to have a significant lowering effect on diarrhoea and flatulence (p<0.05), respectively. No adverse reports and detected efficacy trends suggest administration of the probiotic product as possible approach in LI symptoms alleviation but study with more participants is necessary because of great variability among individuals.
The basic requirement for probiotic bacteria to be able to exert expected positive effects is to be alive; therefore, appropriate quantification methods are crucial. Due to disadvantages of ...conventional microbiological methods, the bacterial quantification based on the nucleic acid detection is increasingly used. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possibility to use propidium monoazide (PMA) in combination with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method or LIVE/DEAD BacLight viability kit in combination with flow cytometry (FCM) for determination of probiotic bacteria in a lyophilised product containing Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12. In addition, the viability of probiotic bacteria in lyophilised product during 3 months storage was investigated. In the product, the results of real-time PCR quantification of PMA-treated cells did not differ significantly from those of non-treated cells, which indicate that most of the bacterial cells retained the membrane integrity although they have lost the culturability. The results obtained by FCM analysis were comparable with those by PMA real-time PCR. In conclusion, the PMA real-time PCR and FCM determination of the viability of probiotic bacteria could complement the plate count method which considers only the culturable part of the population.
Several studies conducted around the world showed substantial vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among different population groups. Sources of vitamin D in the human body include ultraviolet B ...(UVB)-light-induced biosynthesis and dietary intake, but people's diets are often poor in vitamin D. Furthermore, in many regions, sun exposure and the intensity of UVB irradiation during wintertime are not sufficient for vitamin D biosynthesis. In Slovenia, epidemiological data about vitamin D status in the population were investigated through a national Nutrihealth study-an extension to the national dietary survey SI.Menu (2017/18). The study was conducted on a representative sample of 125 adult (18-64 years) and 155 elderly (65-74 years old) subjects, enrolled in the study in different seasons. Their vitamin D status was determined by measuring the serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration. Thresholds for vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were 25(OH)D levels below 30 and 50 nmol/L, respectively. Altogether, 24.9% of the adults and 23.5% of the elderly were found to be vitamin D deficient, while an insufficient status was found in 58.2% and 62.9%, respectively. A particularly concerning situation was observed during extended wintertime (November-April); vitamin D deficiency was found in 40.8% and 34.6%, and insufficient serum 25(OH)D levels were observed in 81.6% and 78.8%, respectively. The results of the study showed high seasonal variation in serum 25(OH)D levels in both the adult and elderly population, with deficiency being especially pronounced during wintertime. The prevalence of this deficiency in Slovenia is among the highest in Europe and poses a possible public health risk that needs to be addressed with appropriate recommendations and/or policy interventions.
Microbial communities inhabiting the breast milk microenvironment are essential in supporting mammary gland health in lactating women and in providing gut-colonizing bacterial 'inoculum' for their ...infants' gastro-intestinal development. Bacterial DNA was extracted from colostrum samples of 45 healthy Slovenian mothers. Characteristics of the communities in the samples were assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). PCR screening for the prevalence of bacteriocin genes was performed on DNA of culturable and total colostrum bacteria. DGGE profiling revealed the presence of Staphylococcus and Gemella in most of the samples and exposed 4 clusters based on the abundance of 3 bands: Staphylococcus epidermidis/Gemella, Streptococcus oralis/pneumonia and Streptococcus salivarius. Bacilli represented the largest proportion of the communities. High prevalence in samples at relatively low quantities was confirmed by qPCR for enterobacteria (100%), Clostridia (95.6%), Bacteroides-Prevotella group (62.2%) and bifidobacteria (53.3%). Bacterial quantities (genome equivalents ml-1) varied greatly among the samples; Staphylococcus epidermidis and staphylococci varied in the range of 4 logs, streptococci and all bacteria varied in the range of 2 logs, and other researched groups varied in the range of 1 log. The quantity of most bacterial groups was correlated with the amount of all bacteria. The majority of the genus Staphylococcus was represented by the species Staphylococcus epidermidis (on average 61%), and their abundances were linearly correlated. Determinants of salivaricin A, salivaricin B, streptin and cytolysin were found in single samples. This work provides knowledge on the colostrum microbial community composition of healthy lactating Slovenian mothers and reports bacteriocin gene prevalence.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Patients consuming synbiotic/placebo reported 18% improvement in IBS-QoL score.•Patients consuming synbiotic/placebo reported improvements in several IBS symptoms.•No beneficial effect of synbiotic ...product over placebo was shown in IBS patients.•High placebo effect was observed in this study.
Clinical trials evaluating the effects of synbiotics on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a synbiotic fermented milk on health-related quality of life (QoL) and IBS symptoms in patients with constipation-predominant IBS. Altogether, 76 patients (test = 33, control = 43) were randomized in this multicentre, double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial. On average, an 18% improvement in total IBS-QoL score was reported and significant improvements in bloating severity, satisfaction with bowel movements and the severity of IBS symptoms' interference with patients' everyday life were observed; however, there were no statistically significant differences between the synbiotic group and the placebo group. Sustained improvements in several IBS symptoms and total IBS-QoL score observed in both groups could suggest there may be derivable benefits from the regular consumption of fermented milk; however, this would need to be confirmed in a separate clinical trial.
Fermentation and ripening specificity of traditional cheeses are predominantly directed by the natural microbial community present in milk selected by the cheese-making environment and technology. ...Therefore the traditional cheeses are unique products with specific microbiota biodiversity. There are several approaches for the identification of microbial population, however all of them have certain advantages and disadvantages. In this study the eligibility and performance of the Biolog phenotypic identification system (Biolog, Inc.) with GEN III microplates was tested. Parallel to this method, polymerase chain reaction with genus- and species-specific primers was performed. One hundred sixty-five isolates from nine types of artisan cheeses were isolated and analysed. Cheeses were produced from raw ewe’s milk in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The Biolog phenotypic identification system identified 90 isolates, but only 55 identifications acquired by the Biolog system were supported by polymerase chain reaction at a genus level and 28 at a species level. The obtained results showed that the reliability of commercial phenotypic identification systems was inadequate when analysing lactic acid bacteria isolates from natural, spontaneous fermentations and needs to be additionally corroborated by genotypic identification methods.
The human milk microbiota plays an important role in the development of infant's intestinal microbiota and in the protection of infants against pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this study is to ...investigate the microbial composition of human milk from 47 breastfeeding mothers, sampled separately from the left (L) and the right (R) breast, on the 30th day after giving birth. We quantified some major bacterial groups in human milk, compared the cultivable bacteria from the left and the right breast and identified strain diversity of lactobacilli. The results revealed that human milk contains lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria and mesophilic aerobic bacteria, of which the last were the most abundant group. Although the microbial composition of human milk in L and R breast samples was comparable, the concentration of bacteria in the two samples from the same mother might vary, therefore milk sample taken from one breast only does not reflect the average microbial composition. Using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), 86 presumptive isolates of lactobacilli from representative samples of human milk from 11 mothers were classified into 11 groups. Moreover, representatives of different RAPD groups were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing. Out of 11 RAPD groups, 4 groups (21 % of all isolates) belonged to the species Lactobacillus gasseri. The most representative RAPD profile (48 % of isolates) was found to belong to the species Lactobacillus fermentum. Other RAPD groups were associated with L. salivarius, L. reuteri, Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bifidobacterium breve species.
Lactobacillus gasseri K7 is an isolate from infant feces and has in vitro and in vivo established probiotic properties. Here, we report the improved version of the draft genome sequence, which ...comprises 8 scaffolds (13 contigs), a total length of 1.99 Mb, and 1,841 predicted protein-coding sequences.
Brazzein is an intensely sweet-tasting plant protein with good stability, which makes it an attractive alternative to sucrose. A brazzein gene has been designed, synthesized, and expressed in ...Escherichia coli at 30 °C to yield brazzein in a soluble form and in considerable quantity. Antibodies have been produced using brazzein fused to His-tag. Brazzein without the tag was sweet and resembled closely the taste of its native counterpart. The brazzein gene was also expressed in Lactococcus lactis, using a nisin-controlled expression system, to produce sweet-tasting lactic acid bacteria. The low level of expression was detected with anti-brazzein antibodies. Secretion of brazzein into the medium has not led to significant yield increase. Surprisingly, optimizing the codon usage for Lactococcus lactis led to a decrease in the yield of brazzein.
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