• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.477-481
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• 2020

Viability plays an important role in the beneficial microbes (probiotics) to produce health benefits. However, this idea has been changed after the invention of the term "paraprobiotics," indicating that non-viable microbes could produce health benefits similar to those produced by live probiotics. Occasionally, it might be dangerous to administer live probiotics to people with weak immunity. In such cases, ingestion of paraprobiotics could be a potential alternative. The definition of paraprobiotics refers to the use of inactivated (non-viable) microbial cells or cell fractions to provide health benefits to the consumer. Paraprobiotics have attracted much attention because of their long shelf life, safety, and beneficial effects, such as modulation of immunity, modification of biological responses, reduction of cholesterol, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties. These features indicate that paraprobiotics may play a vital role in improving the health of the consumer by enhancing particular physiological functions, even though the exact underlying mechanisms have not yet been completely elucidated. In this mini-review, we briefly discuss the historical backgrounds of paraprobiotics and evidence of their health-promoting effects, prophylactic, and therapeutic properties.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1491-1500
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• 2024

Inflammation is a biodefense mechanism that provides protection against painful conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, other gastrointestinal problems, and irritable bowel syndrome. Paraprobiotics have probiotic characteristics of intestinal modulation along with merits of safety and stability. In this study, heat-killed Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KU15122 (KU15122) was investigated for its anti-inflammatory properties. KU15122 was subjected to heat-killed treatment for enhancement of its safety, and its concentration was set at 8 log CFU/mL for conducting different experiments. Nitric oxide production was most remarkably reduced in the KU15122 group, whereas it was increased in the LPS-treated group. In RAW 264.7 cells, KU15122 inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α. ELISA revealed that among the tested strains, KU15122 exhibited the most significant reduction in PGE2, IL-1β, and IL-6. Moreover, KU15122 inhibited various factors involved in the nuclear factor-kappa B, activator protein-1, and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. In addition, KU15122 reduced the generation of reactive oxygen species. The anti-inflammatory effect of KU15122 was likely attributable to the bacterial exopolysaccharides. Conclusively, KU15122 exhibits anti-inflammatory potential against inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.358-366
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• 2024

The lactic acid bacteria, including Latilactobacillus sakei and Latilactobacillus curvatus, have been widely studied for their preventive and therapeutic effects. In this study, the underlying mechanism of action for the antioxidant and immunostimulatory effects of two strains of heat-treated paraprobiotics was examined. Heat-treated L. sakei KU15041 and L. curvatus KU15003 showed higher radical scavenging activity in both the 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assays than the commercial probiotic strain LGG. In addition, treatment with these two strains exhibited immunostimulatory effects in RAW 264.7 macrophages, with L. curvatus KU15003 showing a slightly higher effect. Additionally, they promoted phagocytosis and NO production in RAW 264.7 cells without any cytotoxicity. Moreover, the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 was upregulated. These strains resulted in an increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. Moreover, the nuclear factor-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways were stimulated by these strains. These findings suggest the potential of using L. sakei KU15041 and L. curvatus KU15003 in food or by themselves as probiotics with antioxidant and immune-enhancing properties.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.902-910
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• 2024

The anti-cancer effects of heat-killed Enterococcus faecium KU22001 (KU22001), KU22002, and KU22005 isolated from human infant feces were investigated. The anti-proliferative activity of these strains against various cancer cell lines was evaluated using the MTT assay. To determine the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) with potential anti-cancer effect, ethanol precipitation and phenol-sulfuric acid method was used with the cell free supernatant of strains grown at 25℃ or 37℃. The EPS yield of E. faecium strains was higher at 25℃ than at 37℃. Among these E. faecium strains, KU22001 grown at 25℃ was associated with the highest bax/bcl-2 ratio, effective apoptosis rate, cell cycle arrest in the G₀/G₁ phase, and condensation of the nucleus in the cervical cancer HeLa cell line. In conclusion, these results suggest that KU22001 can be beneficial owing to the anti-cancer effects and production of functional materials, such as EPS.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.167-170
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• 2015

The dairy industry, as part of the broader agricultural sector, is classified as a basic industry to the Korea economy. Basic industries provide income to a region by producing an output, purchasing production inputs, services and labor. An integrated, multidisciplinary approach for the next generation of dairy products with added health benefits represent the direct economic contribution. The commercialization of "nutritional" functional foods can only be successful if the consumer is confident in the scientific validity of the claims. Modern biotechnologies such as genomics, genetic expression and biomarkers of health performance suggested to whole dairy products, such as fluid milk, butter, cheese, ice cream and frozen dessert products (German, 1999). The following definition makes the point that dairy products can provide a nutritional value beyond the basic nutritional requirements: 1) The dairy industry has the opportunity to improve the health and well-being of its customers and/or to reduce their risk of disease through dairy products with added activities. 2) Functional dairy products are those that can be demonstrated to benefit target functions in the body in a way that improves the state of health and /or reduces the risk of disease. They are food products that are consumed as part of a normal diet rather than pills or supplements. 3) Dairy products based on functionality will need to link the scientific basis of such functionality to the communication of its benefit to the general public. 4) Both the efficacy and the safety of the food components with health benefits will require evidence based on the measurement of scientific biomarkers relevant to their biological responses and health end points. 5) Sound evidence from human studies based on intermediate health end points using accepted biomarkers will provide the basis for promotional messages divided into two categories-enhanced function and reduced risk of disease. 6) Success in solving key scientific and technological challenges will only be achieved by interdisciplinary research programs to exploit the scientific concepts in functional dairy science.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.595-602
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• 2021

Human intestinal microbiota play an important role in the regulation of the host's metabolism. There is a close pathological and physiological interaction between dysbiosis of the intestinal microflora and obesity and metabolic syndrome. Akkermansia muciniphila, which was recently isolated from human feces, accounts for about 1-4% of the intestinal microbiota population. The use of A. muciniphila- derived external membrane protein Amuc_1100 and extracellular vesicles (EVs) could be a new strategy for the treatment of obesity. A. muciniphila is considered a next-generation probiotic (NGP) for the treatment of metabolic disorders, such as obesity. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii accounts for about 5% of the intestinal microbiota population in healthy adults and is an indicator of gut health. F. prausnitzii is a butyrate-producing bacterium, with anti-inflammatory effects, and is considered an NGP for the treatment of immune diseases and diabetes. Postbiotics are complex mixtures of metabolites contained in the cell supernatant secreted by probiotics. Parabiotics are microbial cells in which probiotics are inactivated. Paraprobiotics and postbiotics have many advantages over probiotics, such as clear chemical structures, safe dose parameters, and a long shelf life. Thus, they have the potential to replace probiotics. The most natural strategy to restore the imbalance of the intestinal ecosystem normally is to use NGPs among commensal bacteria in the gut. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new foods or drugs such as parabiotics and postbiotics using NGPs.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2015

Probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic substances as well as microorganisms were added to infant formula in an attempt to influence the intestinal microflora with an aim to stimulate the growth of lactic acid bacteria, especially bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. Over the last 10 years, new synbiotic infant formulas containing probiotics and prebiotics have been proposed in order to simulate the effect of breast-feeding on the intestinal microflora. Owing to their synergistic effect, the new synbiotics are expected to be more helpful than using probiotics and prebiotics individually. Maintenance of the viability of the probiotics during food processing and the passage through the gastrointestinal tract should be the most important consideration, since a sufficient number of bacteria ($10^8cfu/g$) should reach the intended location to have a positive effect on the host. Storage conditions and the processing technology used for the manufacture of products such as infant formula adversely affect the viability of the probiotics. When an appropriate and cost-effective microencapsulation methodology using the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status and substances with high biological value are developed, the quality of infant formulas would improve. The effect of probiotics may be called a double-effect, where one is an immunomodulatory effect, induced by live probiotics that advantageously alter the gastrointestinal microflora, and the other comprises anti-inflammatory responses elicited by dead cells. At present, a new terminology is required to define the dead microorganisms or crude microbial fractions that positively affect health. The term "paraprobiotics" (or ghost probiotics) has been proposed to define dead microbial cells (not damaged or broken) or crude cell extracts (i.e., cell extracts with complex chemical composition) that are beneficial to humans and animals when a sufficient amount is orally or topically administered. The fecal microflora of bottle-fed infants is altered when the milk-based infant formula is supplemented with probiotics or prebiotics. Thus, by increasing the proportion of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, prebiotics modify the fecal microbial composition and accordingly regulate the activity of the immune system. Therefore, considerable attention has been focused on the improvement of infant formula quality such that its beneficial effects are comparable to those of human milk, using prebiotics such as inulin and oligosaccharides and potential specific probiotics such as bifidobacteria, which selectively stimulate the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the microflora and the indigenous intestinal metabolic activity of the microflora.