Therapeutic effect of Streptococcus thermophilus CRL 1190-fermented milk on chronic gastritis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the potential therapeutic effect of exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing Streptococcus thermophilus (S. thermophilus) CRL 1190 fermented milk on chronic gastritis in Balb/c mice.


METHODS
Balb/c mice were fed with the fermented milk for 7 d after inducing gastritis with acetyl-salicylic acid (ASA, 400 mg/kg body weight per day for 10 d). Omeprazole was included in this study as a positive therapeutic control. The gastric inflammatory activity was evaluated from gastric histology and inflammation score, number of interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-gamma (INFgamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) cytokine-producing cells in the gastric mucosa, and thickness of the mucus layer.


RESULTS
Animals receiving treatment with the EPS-producing S. thermophilus CRL 1190 fermented milk showed a conserved gastric mucosa structure similar to that of healthy animals. Inflammation scores of the fermented milk-treated mice were lower than those of mice in the gastritis group (0.2 + or - 0.03 vs 2.0 + or - 0.6, P < 0.05). A marked decrease in INFgamma(+) (15 + or - 1.0 vs 28 + or - 1.2, P < 0.05) and TNF-alpha(+) (16 + or - 3.0 vs 33 + or - 3.0, P < 0.05) cells and an increase in IL-10(+) (28 + or - 1.5 vs 14 + or - 1.3, P < 0.05) cells compared to the gastritis group, was observed. Also, an increase in the thickness of the mucus gel layer (2.2 + or - 0.6 vs 1.0 + or - 0.3; 5.1 + or - 0.8 vs 1.5 + or - 0.4 in the corpus and antrum mucosa, respectively, P < 0.05) compared with the gastritis group was noted. A milk suspension of the purified EPS from S. thermophilus CRL1190 was also effective as therapy for gastritis.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that fermented milk with S. thermophilus CRL 1190 and/or its EPS could be used in novel functional foods as an alternative natural therapy for chronic gastritis induced by ASA.
Rodríguez
Cecilia
C
Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA)-CONICET, Chacabuco 145, San Miguel de Tucumán, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina.
Medici
Marta
M
Mozzi
Fernanda
F
Font de Valdez
Graciela
G
D000818:Animals; D001241:Aspirin / Q000737:chemistry; D001835:Body Weight; D005285:Fermentation; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005756:Gastritis / Q000628:therapy*; D007249:Inflammation; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008892:Milk / Q000378:metabolism*; D048249:Streptococcus thermophilus / Q000378:metabolism*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D001241:Aspirin