Vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, is essential for maintaining human health. The purpose of this study was to isolate novel lactic acid bacteria that overproduce vitamin B2 and to validate their potential as probiotics. In this study, Lactobacillus plantarum HY7715 (HY7715) was selected among lactic acid bacteria isolated from Kimchi. HY7715 showed a very high riboflavin-producing ability compared to the control strain due to the high expression of ribA, ribB, ribC, ribH, and ribG genes. HY7715 produced 34.5 ± 2.41 mg/L of riboflavin for 24 h without consuming riboflavin in the medium under optimal growth conditions. It was able to produce riboflavin in an in vitro model of the intestinal environment. In addition, when riboflavin deficiency was induced in mice through nutritional restriction, higher levels of riboflavin were detected in plasma and urine in the HY7715 administration group than in the control group. HY7715 showed high survival rate in simulated gastrointestinal conditions and had antibiotic resistance below the cutoff MIC value suggested by the European Food Safety Authority; moreover, it did not cause hemolysis. In conclusion, HY7715 could be considered a beneficial probiotic strain for human and animal applications, suggesting that it could be a new alternative to address riboflavin deficiency.

Arthritis is mainly a geriatric disease that causes joint pain and lowers the quality of life. This clinical trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy of Lilium lancifolium Thunb. (HY-LL) in alleviating joint pain. Six candidate anti-inflammatory components including regaloside A were identified in HY-LL using HPLC analysis. All participants were assigned to the HY-LL or the placebo group and took tablets twice a day for 12 weeks. As a result, pain VAS and K-WOMAC total scores significantly decreased after 12 weeks compared to the baseline in the HY-LL group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.043, 0.043). The K-WOMAC sub-scores for pain and function showed a statistically significant improvement in the HY-LL group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.023, 0.047). Furthermore, the participants’ overall quality of life improved after 12 weeks of HY-LL consumption (p = 0.024). However, no significant differences were observed in the blood biomarkers. Therefore, this study demonstrated the positive effect of 12 weeks of HY-LL consumption on joint pain and quality of life.

Helicobacter pylori remains a major cause of chronic gastritis and dyspeptic symptoms, and the effectiveness of standard eradication therapy continues to decline with increasing antibiotic resistance. Lacticaseibacillus paracasei HP7 has shown inhibitory and anti-inflammatory effects on H. pylori in preclinical studies. This study investigated whether 8-week oral HP7 supplementation could improve H. pylori -related outcomes in adults with confirmed infection. Seventy-eight adults with positive ¹³ C-urea breath test ( ¹³ C-UBT) results and gastric discomfort were randomized to receive low-dose HP7 (HP7-L, 1.5 × 10 ⁹ CFU/day), high-dose HP7 (HP7-H, 5.0 × 10 ⁹ CFU/day), or placebo for 8 weeks. Outcomes included changes in ¹³ C-UBT values, upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms assessed by Korean Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, pepsinogen I/II ratio, serum tumor necrosis factor-α, and quality-of-life indices. HP7-H significantly reduced ¹³ C-UBT values compared with placebo. HP7 supplementation was also associated with improvements in gastric mucosal biomarkers and modest changes in selected upper GI symptom and quality-of-life domains. Overall microbial diversity was not significantly altered, although the abundance of L. paracasei increased following supplementation. No treatment-related serious adverse events were observed, and all laboratory findings remained within clinical reference ranges. Complete eradication of H. pylori was not achieved in most participants. These findings support the clinical potential of HP7 supplementation to attenuate H. pylori -related activity and improve gastric biomarkers, with modest benefits in selected dyspeptic symptom domains. HP7 may be a safe and effective functional food option for H. pylori management when antibiotics are contraindicated or ineffective. Further studies are warranted to confirm long-term efficacy and durability of these effects.

Journal of Milk Science and Biotechnology (J. Milk Sci. Biotechnol., ISSN 2384-0269; eISSN 2508-3635) publishes original papers or review articles covering topics of chemistry, biotechnology, processing and microbiology of milk and milk products since 1981

Epidemiological evidence suggests that fruit and vegetable intake significantly positively affects cardiovascular health. Since vegetable juice is more accessible than raw vegetables, it attracts attention as a health functional food for circulatory diseases. Therefore, this study measured blood lipids, antioxidants, blood circulation indicators, and changes in the microbiome to confirm the effect of organic vegetable mixed juice (OVJ) on improving blood circulation. This 4-week, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study involved adult men and women with borderline total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. As a result, blood lipid profile indicators, such as TC, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B, decreased (p < 0.05) in the OVJ group compared with those in the placebo group. Additionally, the antioxidant biomarker superoxide dismutase increased (p < 0.05). In contrast, systolic and diastolic blood viscosities, as blood circulation-related biomarkers, decreased (p < 0.05) in the OVJ group compared with those in the placebo group. After the intervention, a fecal microbiome analysis confirmed differences due to changes in the intestinal microbiome composition between the OVJ and placebo groups. In conclusion, our research results confirmed that consuming OVJ improves blood circulation by affecting the blood lipid profile, antioxidant enzymes, and microbiome changes.