Yogurt from Xinjiang, China, is a traditional and naturally fermented food, and abundant microorganisms are produced during its fermentation process. In this study, we carried out in vivo animal experiments to explore the effect of a newly isolated lactic acid bacterial strain, Lactobacillus plantarum KSFY02 (LP-KSFY02), on oxidative aging. We used d-galactose to induce oxidative aging in mice and analyzed the serum and tissues of those mice using molecular biology detection methods. The results showed that LP-KSFY02 could inhibit the decreases in the thymic, cerebral, cardiac, liver, spleen, and kidney indices of mice caused by oxidative aging. The LP-KSFY02 strain increased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione (GSH) and reduced levels of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde in the serum, liver, and spleen of the oxidative aging mice. Pathological observation demonstrated that LP-KSFY02 alleviated damage to the liver and spleen of oxidative aging mice. Quantitative PCR showed that LP-KSFY02 effectively upregulated mRNA expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (Nos1), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (Nos3), copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Sod1), manganese superoxide dismutase (Sod2), catalase (Cat), heme oxygenase-1 (Hmox1), nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nfe2l2), γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (Gclm), and quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) in mouse liver and spleen and downregulated expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (Nos2). Western blot analysis revealed that LP-KSFY02 effectively upregulated protein expression of SOD1, SOD2, CAT, GSH1, and GSH2 in mouse liver and spleen tissues. Therefore, LP-KSFY02 can effectively prevent d-galactose-induced oxidative aging in mice. Its efficacy was superior to that of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus (LDSB) and vitamin C, which are commonly used in the medical field as antioxidants. Thus, LP-KSFY02 is a high-quality strain with probiotic potential.

Kudingcha is a traditional Chinese tea, and insect tea is a special drink produced by the metabolism of insect larvae using the raw Kuding tea. Insect tea polyphenols (ITP) and its raw tea (Kuding tea) polyphenols (KTP) are high-purity polyphenols extracted by centrifuge precipitation. The present study was designed to compare the antioxidative effects of insect tea polyphenols (ITP) and its raw tea (Kuding tea) polyphenols (KTP) on d-galactose-induced oxidation in Kunming (KM) mice. KM mice were treated with ITP (200 mg/kg) and KTP (200 mg/kg) by gavage, and vitamin C (VC, 200 mg/kg) was also used as a positive control by gavage. After determination in serum, liver and spleen, ITP-treated mice showed higher superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione (GSH) activities and lower nitric oxide (NO), malonaldehyde (MDA) activities than VC-treated mice, KTP-treated mice and untreated oxidation mice (control group). By H&E section observation, the mice induced by d-galactose-induced oxidation showed more changes than normal mice, and oxidative damage appeared in liver and spleen tissues; ITP, VC and KTP improved oxidative damage of liver and spleen tissues, and the effects of ITP were better than VC and KTP. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot experiments, it was observed that ITP could increase the mRNA and protein expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), cupro/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), catalase (CAT), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), gamma glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS), and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and reduce inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in liver and spleen tissues compared to the control group. These effects were stronger than for VC and KTP. Both ITP and KTP had good antioxidative effects, and after the transformation of insects, the effects of ITP were better than that of KTP and even better than VC. Thus, ITP can be used as an antioxidant and anti-ageing functional food.

We conducted the present study to determine the gastric injury preventive effects of polyphenols in Kuding tea (KTPs) in Kunming (KM) mice through the inhibition of gastric-acid secretion and the protection of the gastric mucosa.

The present study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum YS2 (LP-YS2) that was isolated from yak yogurt on activated carbon-induced constipation in Kunming (KM) mice. The KM mice were orally administered LP-YS2 and reference strain Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus. Administration of LP-YS2 [1.0 × 109 cfu/kg of body weight (BW)] promoted gastrointestinal peristalsis and reduced the first black stool defecation time (129 min), which clearly defines attenuation of the voiding difficulty in mice with constipation. The LP-YS2 treatment also increased the serum level of motilin (MTL; 178.2 pg/mL), gastrin (69.4 pg/mL), acetylcholine (Ach; 30.1 pg/mL), substance P (SP; 57.6 pg/mL), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP; 53.2 pg/mL) and reduced the somatostatin (SS, 32.6 pg/mL) levels compared with the L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus treatment (MTL, 139.7 pg/mL; gastrin, 43.1 pg/mL; Ach, 15.9 pg/mL; SP, 43.6 pg/mL; VIP, 32.3 pg/mL; SS, 55.1 pg/mL) and the control (MTL, 105.3 pg/mL; gastrin, 26.7 pg/mL; Ach, 9.7 pg/mL; SP, 30.2 pg/mL; VIP, 21.0 pg/mL; SS, 70.5 pg/mL). The LP-YS2 treatment significantly increased the colonic mRNA and protein expression of c-Kit (CD117, cluster of differentiation 117; 2.87 times mRNA expression of the control group), stem cell factor (30.40 times mRNA expression of the control group), and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (29.97 times mRNA expression of the control group) in mice with constipation. In addition, LP-YS2 reduced the expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (0.42 times mRNA expression of the control group) and nitric oxide synthase (0.49 times mRNA expression of the control group) in constipated mice. These results demonstrate that LP-YS2 was able to attenuate the activated carbon-induced constipation in KM mice.

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be caused by abnormal bowel movements, altered brain-gut axis, gut microbiota change, and low levels of inflammation or immune activation. The intake of food containing much fiber and lactic acid bacteria (LABs) can alleviate IBS. Objective: This study was undertaken to confirm the alleviative effect of kimchi on symptoms of IBS. Design: Three types of kimchi (standard kimchi, SK; dead nano-sized Lactobacillus plantarum nF1 (nLp) added to standard kimchi, nLpSK; or functional kimchi, FK) were given to 30 individuals in each of three groups, that is, the SK group (n = 30), the nLpSK group (n = 30), or the FK group (n = 30) at 210 g a day for 12 weeks. Food intake records, serum levels of inflammatory factors, fecal levels of harmful enzymes, and microbiome changes were investigated over the 12-week study period. Results: After intervention, dietary fiber intake was increased in all groups. Typical IBS symptoms (abdominal pain or inconvenience, desperation, incomplete evacuation, and bloating), defecation time, and stool type were also improved. In serum, all groups showed reductions in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (P < 0.001) levels. In addition, serum IL-4 (P < 0.001), IL-10 (P < 0.001), and IL-12 (P < 0.01) were significantly reduced in the nLpSK and FK groups, and serum monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 (P < 0.05) was significantly reduced in the nLpSK group. Furthermore, activities of fecal β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase were significantly decreased in all three groups, and these reductions were greatest in the nLpSK group. Gut microbiome analysis showed that kimchi consumption increased Firmicutes populations at the expense of Bacteroidetes and Tenericutes populations. In addition, the Bifidobacterium adolescentis population increased significantly in the FK group (P = 0.026). Conclusion: Kimchi intake helps alleviate IBS by increasing dietary fiber intake and reducing serum inflammatory cytokine levels and harmful fecal enzyme activities. Notably, nLp improved the immune system, and several functional ingredients in FK promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium adolescentis in gut.