| Abstract
| - The objective of this study was to assess the antiallergic effect of fermented milk prepared, respectively,with Streptococcus thermophilus MC, Lactobacillus acidophilus B, Lactobacillus bulgaricus Lb, L.bulgaricus 448, and Bifidobacterium longum B6. Female BALB/c mice fed fermented milk wereimmunized intraperitoneally with ovalbumin (OVA)/complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) to evaluatethe immune response by observing the secretion of cytokines IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ and serum antibodyIgE. The results showed that supplementation with lactic acid bacteria fermented milk did notsignificantly change the IL-2 spontaneous and OVA-stimulated secretions of splenocytes. However,both spontaneous and OVA-stimulated secretions of splenocytes from mice fed lactic acid bacteriafermented milk showed significantly (P< 0.05) lower levels of IL-4 (Th2 cytokine) than those fromOVA/CFA-immunized mice fed non-fermented milk (OVA/CFA−milk group). The spontaneoussecretion of IFN-γ (Th1 cytokine) by splenocytes from mice fed L. bulgaricus 448 or L. bulgaricus Lbfermented milk significantly increased as compared to that from the OVA/CFA−milk group. The resultsshowed that the ratios of IFN-γ to IL-4 of both spontaneous and OVA-stimulated secretions insplenocytes from mice fed lactic acid bacteria fermented milk increased significantly as compared tothat of PBS- or OVA/CFA−milk groups. The serum levels of OVA-specific IgE in fermented milk fedgroups, especially the group fed S. thermophilus MC fermented milk, were significantly lower thanthose in the OVA/CFA−milk group through a 6 week feeding experiment. The results showed thatmilk fermented with lactic acid bacteria demonstrated in vivo antiallergic effects on OVA/CFA-immunized mice via increasing the secretion ratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 (Th1/Th2) by splenocytes anddecreasing the serum level of OVA-specific IgE. Keywords: Lactic acid bacteria; IFN-γ; IL-2; IL-4; antiallergic effect
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