Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are toxic heavy metals that cause adverse health effects in humans and animals. Chelation therapy, the conventional treatment for heavy metal toxicity, is reported to have a number of safety and efficacy issues. Recent studies have shown that dietary supplements play important roles in protecting against Cd and Pb toxicity. This paper reviews the evidence for protective effects of essential metals, vitamins, edible plants, phytochemicals, probiotics and other dietary supplements against Cd and Pb toxicity and describes the proposed possible mechanisms. Based on these findings, dietary strategies are recommended for people at risk of Cd and Pb exposure. The application of these strategies is advantageous for both the prevention and alleviation of Cd and Pb toxicity, as such supplements can be added easily and affordably to the daily diet and are expected to have very few side effects compared to the chelation therapy.

The bacterial cell surface is a crucial factor in cell-cell and cell-host interactions. Lactobacillus johnsonii FI9785 produces an exopolysaccharide (EPS) layer whose quantity and composition is altered in mutants that harbour genetic changes in their eps gene clusters. We have assessed the effect of changes in EPS production on cell surface characteristics that may affect the ability of L. johnsonii to colonise the poultry host and exclude pathogens. Analysis of physicochemical cell surface characteristics reflected by Zeta potential and adhesion to hexadecane showed that an increase in EPS gave a less negative, more hydrophilic surface and reduced autoaggregation. Autoaggregation was significantly higher in mutants that have reduced EPS, indicating that EPS can mask surface structures responsible for cell-cell interactions. EPS also affected biofilm formation, but here the quantity of EPS produced was not the only determinant. A reduction in EPS production increased bacterial adhesion to chicken gut explants, but made the bacteria less able to survive some stresses. This study showed that manipulation of EPS production in L. johnsonii FI9785 can affect properties which may improve its performance as a competitive exclusion agent, but that positive changes in adhesion may be compromised by a reduction in the ability to survive stress.

Aluminum (Al) is a ubiquitous metal that can seriously harm the health of animals and humans. In our previous study, we demonstrated that Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM639 can decrease Al burden in the tissues of mice by inhibiting intestinal Al absorption. The main aim of the present research was to investigate whether the protection by the strain is also associated with enhancement of the intestinal barrier, alleviation of oxidative stress and modulation of the inflammatory response. In an in vitro cell model, two protection modes (intervention and therapy) were examined and the results indicated that L. plantarum CCFM639 alleviated Al-induced cytotoxicity. In a mouse model, L. plantarum CCFM639 treatment was found to significantly alleviate oxidative stress in the intestinal tract, regulate the function of the intestinal mucosal immune system, restore the integrity of tight junction proteins and maintain intestinal permeability. These results suggest that in addition to Al sequestration, L. plantarum CCFM639 can also inhibit Al absorption by protecting the intestinal barrier, alleviating Al-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Therefore, L. plantarum CCFM639 has the potential to be a dietary supplement ingredient that provides protection against Al-induced gut injury.

Heavy metal cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant that causes adverse health effects in humans. This toxic metal has been detected in a wide range of fruit and vegetables. A strain of lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610, was screened out for its good ability to bind Cd, and this study was designed to investigate the Cd binding properties of this bacterium, and to evaluate its use for removal of Cd from fruit and vegetable juices. Electron microscopy observations and energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed that the majority of the Cd was bound to the surface of the bacterial cell. The Cd biosorption of L. plantarum CCFM8610 was strongly pH dependent, and carboxyl and amino groups of the bacterial surface molecules are important in the binding process. The biosorption was fast and efficient, and could be well explained by the Langmuir–Freundlich dual isotherm model (R² = 0.99) and the pseudo second-order kinetic model (R² = 0.99). After a 2 h incubation and a simple centrifugation, L. plantarum CCFM8610 treatment removed 67% to 82% of the Cd from nine types of fruit and vegetable juices. Long-period fermentation by L. plantarum CCFM8610 (36 h) also significantly decreased Cd concentrations in the juices (56% to 81%). Our results show that this food-grade bacterial strain could be used as a potential probiotic for Cd removal from fruit and vegetable juices.

Hypercholesterolemia is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease, which is among the major causes of death worldwide. The aim of this study was to explore whether Bifidobacterium longum strains exerted intra-species differences in cholesterol-lowering effects in hypercholesterolemic rats and to investigate the potential mechanisms. SD rats underwent gavage with each B. longum strain (CCFM 1077, I3, J3 and B3) daily for 28 days. B. longum CCFM 1077 exerted the most potent cholesterol-lowering effect, followed by B. longum I3 and B3, whereas B. longum B3 had no effect in alleviating hypercholesterolemia. Divergent alleviation of different B. longum strains on hypercholesterolemia can be attributed to the differences in bile salt deconjugation ability and cholesterol assimilation ability in vitro. By 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis, the relative abundance of beneficial genus increased in the B. longum CCFM 1077 treatment group. The expression of key genes involved in cholesterol metabolism were also altered after the B. longum CCFM 1077 treatment. In conclusion, B. longum exhibits strain-specific effects in the alleviation of hypercholesterolemia, mainly due to differences in bacterial characteristics, bile salt deconjugation ability, cholesterol assimilation ability, expressions of key genes involved in cholesterol metabolism and alterations of gut microbiota.

Hyaluronan (HA) has various biological functions and is used extensively as a dietary supplement. Previous studies have shown that the probiotic effects of polysaccharides are closely associated with their molecular properties. The intestinal microbiota has been demonstrated to degrade HA; however, the regulatory effects of different molecular weights (MW) of HA on gut microbiota and metabolites are unknown. In the present study, we performed in vitro fermentation of human-derived feces for three MWs of HA (HA1, 32.3 kDa; HA2, 411 kDa; and HA3, 1510 kDa) to investigate the differences in the fermentation properties of HA with different MWs. We found that gut microbiota can utilize all HAs and, consequently, produce large amounts of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). In addition, we showed that all three HA MWs promoted the growth of Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Faecalibacterium, with HA1 being more effective at promoting the growth of Bacteroides. HAs have various regulatory effects on the structure and metabolites of the gut microbiota. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that alterations in gut microbiota and their metabolites were significantly correlated with changes in metabolic markers. For instance, HA1 enriched α-eleostearic acid and DL-3-aminoisobutyric acid by regulating the abundance of Bacteroides, and HA3 enriched Thymidin by regulating Faecalibacterium. Collectively, the fermentation properties of HA vary across MW, and our results provide insights into the potential association between the MW of HA and its fermentation characteristics by the gut microbiota. These findings provide insights into the influence of the gut microbiota and HAs on the health of the host.