Naohiro Ohara

Identification and Characteristics of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Sour Dough Sponges

Lactic acid bacteria in four samples of sour dough sponges were studied quantitatively and qualitatively. In each sponge, there were one or two species of the genus Lactobacillus: L. reuteri and L. curvatus in San Francisco sour dough sponge, L. brevis and L. hilgardii in panettone sour dough sponge produced in Italy, L. sanfrancisco from a rye sour dough sponge produced in Germany, and L. casei and L. curvatus from a rye sour dough sponge produced in Switzerland. For all isolates except the L. reuteri strains oleic acid, a component of the Tween 80 added to the medium, was essential for growth. It was of interest that lactobacilli requiring oleic acid were the predominant flora of lactic acid bacteria in the microbial environment of sour dough sponges.

Innate Biodefense Activation against Virus Infection by Sphingolipids in Foods

The living body maintains a biodefense system to protect itself against pathogens. Foods containing biodefense modulating components may contribute to give all animals, including humans resistance to pathogens. At the early stage of virus infection, interferons (IFNs), natural killer cells (NK cells) and macrophages (Mo) work effectively to target and destroy virus particles and virus infected cells. Here we screened biodefense modulating components in foods which enhance cellular IFN-β secretion. In vitro, sphigomyelin from the fermented milk, Kefir, and sphingosine (SpS) enhanced IFN-β production of a human osteosarcoma line MG-63 treated with the chemical inducer, poly I: poly C. SpS also enhanced phagocytic activity in the Mo like human cell line U- Mo. In vivo, SpS administrated intraperitoneally or orally suppressed the proliferation of mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in various tissues. These results suggest that SpS activates the biodefense system such as IFN-β production, Mo) phagocytosis and NK killing during the early stage of virus infection.