Publications by authors named "Kimoto-Nira H"

In recent years, the health benefits of lactic acid bacteria have garnered attention, but their antioxidant activity remains relatively underexplored. We have been analyzing the antioxidant activities of various dietary phytochemicals by assessing their ability to mitigate oxidative stressor-induced toxicity in zebrafish larvae through pretreatment. In this study, the antioxidant activities of 24 strains of heat-killed lactic acid bacteria from various origins were examined using this zebrafish assay system.

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In Japan, many workers are exposed to chronic stress, sleep deprivation, and nutritional imbalance. They tend still to go to work when ill, leading to decreased work performance and productivity, which has become a major social problem. We conducted a human entry study with the aim of finding a link between these two factors and proposing an optimized diet, believing that a review of diet may lead to an improvement in labor productivity.

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Lactococcus lactis strains are used as starter cultures in the production of fermented dairy and vegetable foods, but the species also occurs in other niches such as plant material. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis G50 (G50) is a plant-derived strain and potential candidate probiotics.

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We report the complete genome sequence of Lactococcus cremoris strain 7-1, which was isolated from urum, a traditional Mongolian milk product. Strain 7-1 adhered to porcine gastric mucin in a carbon source-dependent manner. The genome consists of a circular chromosome (2,557,589 bp; GC content, 35.

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We previously reported that oral administration of heat-killed Lactococcus lactis H61 improves certain human skin properties. For topical application of this strain, we reasoned that a bacterial cell extract obtained with an aqueous solvent could be readily formulated as a cosmetic ingredient. In the present study, we characterized the water extract from heat-killed H61.

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Article Synopsis
  • - LQ80 is a bacterial strain found in liquid feed intended for pigs.
  • - The complete genome sequence was obtained using the PacBio RS II sequencing technology.
  • - The genome consists of a single circular chromosome that is 3,230,192 base pairs long, with a G+C content of 44.66%, and includes seven plasmids.
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Lactic acid bacteria play an essential role in the food industry in the manufacture of many fermented products (cheese, yogurt, fermented vegetables, etc.). Application of these organisms is now being extended to the area of health improvement, as their probiotic activities become known.

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Article Synopsis
  • Subsp. G50 is a specific strain that has the ability to stimulate the immune system and was isolated from Napier grass.
  • Researchers sequenced the entire genome of this strain using the advanced PacBio RS II sequencing platform.
  • The genome is made up of a single circular chromosome that is 2,346,663 base pairs long, has a G+C content of 35.03%, and does not contain any plasmids.
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It has recently been reported that the rare sugar d-allulose has beneficial effects, including the suppression of postprandial blood glucose elevation in humans, and can be substituted for sucrose as a low-calorie food ingredient. To examine the applications of d-allulose in the dairy industry, we investigated the effects of d-allulose on the acid production of 8 strains of yogurt starter (Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) and 4 strains of lactococci, including potential probiotic candidates derived from dairy products.

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Probiotics, such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and var. , have been shown to modulate immune responses. It is important to understand how probiotic bacteria impact intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), because IECs are the first line of defense at the mucosal surface barrier and their activities substantially affect the gut microenvironment and immunity.

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  • The complete genome sequence of Lactobacillus curvatus was obtained using the PacBio RS II technology.
  • The genome consists of a single circular chromosome that is 1,848,756 base pairs long and has a G+C content of 42.1%.
  • It contains low G+C regions and features 43 identical sequence pairs that are longer than 1,000 base pairs, with no plasmids found in the genome.
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Age-related hearing loss (AHL) is a common disorder associated with aging. In this study, we investigated the effect of the intake of heat-killed Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris H61 (strain H61) on AHL in C57BL/6J mice.

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Article Synopsis
  • Lactic acid bacteria play a crucial role in human health by helping colonize the gut and fight pathogens, especially when they adhere to mucosal surfaces.
  • A study found that Lactococcus lactis 7-1 adheres better to gastric mucin when grown on fructose, particularly in the presence of sodium acetate, which enhances adhesion under certain conditions.
  • The growth with sodium acetate resulted in lower cell yields but higher hydrophobicity, which is linked to improved adhesion, suggesting that these ingredients could be used to boost the efficacy of beneficial bacteria in food applications.
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  • Live Lactobacillus brevis KB290 shows various probiotic benefits, like boosting immunity and balancing gut bacteria, and researchers studied how it survives in the presence of bile.
  • The strain was found to grow better in higher bile concentrations, showing more cell yield and improved characteristics such as hydrophobicity, which may help with gut attachment.
  • Bile also led to increased lactate production, maintained cell shape, and reduced cell damage over time, highlighting bile's role in enhancing the strain's survival in the intestine.
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Attachment of lactic acid bacteria to the mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract is a major property of probiotics. Here, we examined the ability of 21 lactic acid bacterial strains isolated from traditional fermented milk products in Mongolia to adhere to porcine gastric mucin in vitro. Higher attachment was observed with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp.

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We conducted a randomized double-blind trial to evaluate the effects of fermented milk produced using only Lactococcus lactis strain H61 as a starter bacterium (H61-fermented milk) on the general health and various skin properties of young women. Healthy female volunteers (n=23; age=19-21r) received H61-fermented milk (10(10) cfu of strain H61/d) or conventional yogurt (10(10) cfu of both Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus per day), as a reference food, daily for 4 wk.

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Reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide, can damage cellular components, such as proteins, lipids, and DNA. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes catalyze the conversion of superoxide anions to hydrogen peroxide and dioxygen. SOD is present in most lactococcal bacteria, which are commonly used as starters for manufacturing fermented dairy products and may have health benefits when taken orally.

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Nitric oxide (NO) is a multifunctional mediator that is involved in a variety of pathologic and physiologic processes. Few studies have addressed the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), especially Lactococcus lactis strains used in dairy products, on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction as a component of the host's gastrointestinal immune response. We investigated the ability of L.

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Bile tolerance is a fundamental ability of probiotic bacteria. We examined this property in 56 Lactobacillus brevis strains isolated from Japanese pickles and also evaluated cellular fatty acid composition and cell-bound exopolysaccharide (EPS-b) production. The bile tolerance of these strains was significantly lower in modified de Man - Rogosa - Sharpe (MRS) medium (without Tween 80 or sodium acetate) than in standard MRS medium.

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To characterize novel variations of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by dairy strains of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and subsp. cremoris, the EPSs of five dairy strains of L.

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We identified two compounds that demonstrated 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity from cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum. Spectroscopic analyses proved these compounds to be L-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) lactic acid (HPLA) and L-indole-3-lactic acid (ILA). The respective EC50 values for HPLA and ILA were 36.

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  • A study compared the growth and bile tolerance of 20 plant-derived and 18 non-plant-derived strains of Lactobacillus casei, revealing that plant-derived strains had significantly lower bile tolerance.
  • The strains did not have the ability to deconjugate bile, suggesting that this function did not affect their bile tolerance levels.
  • The research also found a correlation between the fatty acid compositions of the strains and their bile tolerance, indicating that the origin of the lactobacilli influences both their fatty acid makeup and their ability to withstand bile.
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  • * Out of 208 LAB strains tested, nine effectively inhibited the growth of P. larvae and were identified as Enterococcus sp., Weissella sp., and Lactobacillus sp.
  • * LAB strains were found to boost the expression of antimicrobial peptide genes in honeybees, indicating potential for enhancing their immune response and preventing bacterial diseases.
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To exert their beneficial effects, probiotics need to survive in the stringent conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Symbiosis between different bacteria is a potential way of enhancing this survival. In developing new probiotic cultures, we investigated the synergic effect between Enterococcus mundtii IFO 13712 and 7 strains of Lactococcus lactis, many of which are widely used as starter bacteria for making dairy products and have probiotic properties.

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Lactococcus lactis H61 can increase the cellular immune responses of aged (14-mo-old) senescence-accelerated mice. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors contributing to IL-12 induction by strain H61 by analyzing strains derived from it. Strain H61 derivative no.

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