The In Vitro Adsorption Ability of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM to Benzo(a)pyrene in PM2.5

The objective of this work was to explore the ability of lactic acid bacteria strains to bind benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) existing in PM2.5. In this study, we examined the ability of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM to bind B(a)P in the simulated PM2.5 environment. Among the tested 5 strains, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM exhibited the best capacity to bind B(a)P, and its B(a)P binding percentage was 60.00%. Simulations of organic and inorganic systems which represent PM2.5 indicated that B(a)P could be absorbed by strain L. acidophilus NCFM. For the inorganic system of pH 5, L. acidophilus NCFM bound 92.74% B(a)P with a cell concentration of 1 × 1010 cfu/mL at 37°C for 8 hr. Regarding the organic system with pH 6, 73.00% B(a)P was bound by strain L. acidophilus NCFM after this bacterium was incubated at 37°C for 10 min. A quick B(a)P binding by this probiotic bacterium took place in the organic system. The removal of B(a)P from PM2.5 was significantly related to incubation time, cultivation temperature, pH, and cell concentration. Thus, our finding shows that long-term consumption of L. acidophilus NCFM is beneficial for the reduction of B(a)P towards the population who are exposed to PM2.5, although the ability of this bacterium to adsorb B(a)P is partly affected by the differences in the origin of PM2.5.

Fecal Recovery of Probiotics Administered as a Multi-Strain Formulation during Antibiotic Treatment

The present study aimed to investigate whether probiotic recovery is affected when consumed together with antibiotics. Fecal samples were collected from an earlier antibiotic associated diarrhea, randomized, placebo-controlled study with a product consisting of a combination of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Lactobacillus paracasei Lpc-37, and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07, B. lactis Bl-04 at equal numbers and at a total dose of 1010 CFU. Fecal samples were collected during the screening visit (T0), i.e., at the time of antibiotic prescription, and then on the last day of the antibiotic treatment (T1) as well as seven days after the subject had stopped taking the antibiotic treatment (T2) and at two weeks after completing antibiotic treatment and one week after probiotic/placebo consumption stopped (T3). Samples were analyzed for the presence of the four administered strains. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01596829. Detection levels of all four strains were significantly increased from T0 to T1 and returned to baseline level from T2 to T3. There were also significantly more subjects with detectable levels of L. paracasei Lpc-37, B. lactis Bi-07, and B. lactis Bl-04 at T1 and T2 compared to T0 and T3, and compared to placebo. Each of the four strains could be detected in the feces of patients apparently unaffected by the simultaneous consumption of antibiotics.

Characterization and Immobilization of a Novel SGNH Family Esterase (LaSGNH1) from Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM

The SGNH family esterases are highly effective biocatalysts due to their strong catalytic efficiencies, great stabilities, relatively small sizes, and ease of immobilization. Here, a novel SGNH family esterase (LaSGNH1) from Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, which has homologues in many Lactobacillus species, was identified, characterized, and immobilized. LaSGNH1 is highly active towards acetate- or butyrate-containing compounds, such as p-nitrophenyl acetate or 1-naphthyl acetate. Enzymatic properties of LaSGNH1, including thermal stability, optimum pH, chemical stability, and urea stability, were investigated. Interestingly, LaSGNH1 displayed a wide range of substrate specificity that included glyceryl tributyrate, tert-butyl acetate, and glucose pentaacetate. Furthermore, immobilization of LaSGNH1 by crosslinked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) showed enhanced thermal stability and efficient recycling property. In summary, this work paves the way for molecular understandings and industrial applications of a novel SGNH family esterase (LaSGNH1) from Lactobacillus acidophilus.

Microencapsulation of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM incorporated with mannitol and its storage stability in mulberry tea

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM (L-NCFM) was microencapsulated via co-extrusion technique with mannitol. Optimization of coating material, locust bean gum (0% to 2%, w/v) and prebiotic, mannitol (0% to 5%, w/v) was tested on bead size and microencapsulation efficiency. L-NCFM cells microencapsulated in three different forms were tested in simulated gastric juice (pH 2.0) and simulated intestinal juice (pH 7.5) and storage test at 4 °C and 25 °C for 4 weeks. 0.5% (w/v) locust bean gum and 3% (w/v) of mannitol are the optimal concentrations to produce bead size of 570 µm, microencapsulation efficiency of 96.81% and cell count 8.92 log CFU/mL. Microencapsulation of L-NCFM with mannitol protect cells better in acidic environment. The viability of encapsulated L-NCFM with mannitol at 4 °C throughout the storage period for 30 days ranged from 8.62 log cfu/mL to 6.80 log cfu/mL, which met the minimum required for probiotic (106CFU/mL).

A surface-layer protein from Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM induces autophagic death in HCT116 cells requiring ROS-mediated modulation of mTOR and JNK signaling pathways

The schematic diagram of Slp-induced autophagic death in HCT116 cells is presented.