Lactobacilli Supplemented with Larch Arabinogalactan and Colostrum Stimulates an Immune Response towards Peripheral NK Activation and Gut Tolerance

Probiotics possibly affect local and systemic immune reactions and maintain the intestinal immune homeostasis in healthy individuals and patients with diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In this single-center, blinded trial, we enrolled 40 individuals (20 patients with IBS and 20 healthy individuals) whose blood and fecal samples were collected before and after a 21-day administration of a product comprising Lactobacillus spp., larch arabinogalactan, and colostrum. The percentage of HLA-DR+ natural killer (NK) cells was higher in healthy individuals (p = 0.03) than in patients with IBS after product supplementation. In the fecal samples of patients with IBS, we observed a decline in IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and secretory IgA levels and, simultaneously, an increase in IL-10 and IL-17A levels after supplementation, although non-significant, whereas, in healthy individuals, we observed a significant decline in IL-6 and IFN-γ levels after supplementation (p < 0.001). Nevertheless, we observed a clinical improvement of symptoms in 65–75% of patients with IBS and the complete resolution of the initial symptoms in five of the 20 patients. We also observed a possible prophylactic effect by the inducing system antiviral impact accompanied by a trend for local immune tolerance in the gut in healthy individuals, where it is the desirable state.

The Investigation of the Stability of Solid Acid Catalysts in the Process of Larch Arabinogalactan Hydrolysis in Aqueous Medium

The toxic and corrosive mineral acids are used traditionally in the processes of plant polysaccharides hydrolysis. The use of solid acid catalysts improves the environmental safety of hydrolysis processes and simplifies the separation of the catalyst from the reaction products. The stability of solid acid catalysts based on mesoporous SBA-15 and graphite-like carbon material Sibunit-4, containing SO3Hgroups, in the process of larch arabinogalactan hydrolysis at 150 °С was studied. The compositions of the resulting hydrolysates were investigated by gas chromatography. It was established that acidmodified Sibunit-4 does not lose the catalytic activity after three cycles of hydrolysis process for a total duration of 12 hours. Modified SBA-15 catalyst was less stable at the studied conditions. The decrease of monosaccharides concentration in the hydrolysates, the changes in the structure of the catalyst and 40% loss of its weight were found after the third cycle of larch arabinogalactan hydrolysis