ABSTRACT
Homeostasis in the stomach is maintained through the balance of protective factors such as gastric mucus, bicarbonates, and gastric mucosal blood ow with aggressive factors such as gastric acid and pepsins.1 The collapse of protective factors and/or the overproduction of aggressive factors by various inuences such as stress, alcohol, and medicine can lead to the development of gastric disorders. Moreover, infection by Helicobacter pylori damages the gastric mucosa and is a signicant risk factor for peptic ulcer, atrophic gastritis, and gastric cancer.2,3
Probiotics are dened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization as “live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benet on the host.”4 Lactic acid bacteria and bidobacteria are the most common types of microbes used as probiotics, and evidence is increasing that some probiotic lactobacilli offer benecial health effects such as the suppression of harmful bacteria and metabolites in the gut, immune modulation, and mechanisms against bowel disorders, allergy, inammation, and cancer.5-8 Previous studies of probiotics have primarily addressed their effects on the intestine, such as modication of the
18.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 323 18.2 Promotion of Gastric Mucosal Healing and Inhibition of H. pylori by B. bidum ..................... 324
18.2.1 Effect of B. bidum Strain Yakult in Animal Models of Gastric Ulcer ......................... 324 18.2.2 Effect of B. bidum BF-1 on Gastric Protection in an Acute Gastric Injury
Animal Model ................................................................................................................. 324 18.2.3 Effect of B. bidum Strain Yakult in Patients with Peptic Ulcer .................................... 326
18.3 Gastric Mucosal Healing and H. pylori Inhibition with Milk Fermented by B. bidum Strain Yakult ................................................................................................................................ 328 18.3.1 Effect of a 4-Week Intake by Healthy Adults with H. pylori Infection .......................... 328 18.3.2 Effect of Drinking B. bidum BF-1-Fermented Milk for 12 Weeks in Healthy
Adults Positive for H. pylori or Pepsinogen .................................................................... 329 18.4 Mechanisms of Action ................................................................................................................. 330
18.4.1 Inhibition of the Growth of H. pylori by B. bidum BF-1 .............................................. 330 18.4.2 Inhibition of the Production of the Inammatory Cytokine Interleukin-8
by B. bidum BF-1 ............................................................................................................332 18.4.3 Inhibition of H. pylori-Induced Genes in Human Epithelial Cells by
B. bidum BF-1 ................................................................................................................332 18.5 Closing Remarks .......................................................................................................................... 337 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. 338 References .............................................................................................................................................. 338
intestinal microbiota and immunomodulatory effects. Recently, however, some have reported the effects of probiotics in the stomach, including the inhibition of H. pylori and the promotion of gastric mucosal healing.9-13
Together with lactic acid bacteria, bidobacteria are used in the production of yogurt and are known to have probiotic effects.14 They are also known to adhere to epithelial cells.15 This chapter highlights studies performed to evaluate the effects of Bidobacterium bidum BF-1 and B. bidum strain Yakult or milk fermented with these strains in promoting gastric health, as well as studies of their underlying mechanisms performed in animal models and human subjects.
