ENHANCED INTESTINAL FERULOYL ESTERASE ACTIVITY IN MICE FED A FUNCTIONAL GOAT MILK CHEESE

ABEIJÓN MUKDSI, M.C.; HARO, A.C.; GONZÁLEZ., S.N.; MEDINA, R.B.

Egmond aan Zee

Simposio; 10th Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria; 2011

Lactobacillus fermentum CRL1446, strain isolated from goat milk cheese, possesses feruloyl esterase (FE) activity able to release ferulic acid from cereal bran at intestinal level, and improve the oxidative status of mice. Cheese is a good carrier for the delivery of probiotic strains into the gut. Our aim was to manufacture a goat milk cheese model carrying L. fermentum CRL1446, and evaluate the effect of its administration on  intestinal FE activity and oxidative status in mice. Four different pasteurized milk cheeses were manufactured under controlled microbiological conditions:  1) Cheese with starter culture (L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus), 2) Cheese with L. fermentum CRL1446 (CRL1446), 3) Cheese with starter culture and L. fermentum CRL1446 (Mix), 4) Control cheese with no culture addition. Cheeses were ripened for 60 days, and viable cell counts and FE activity were determined. Swiss albino mice were divided into 4 groups, fed a commercial balanced diet and one of the above mentioned cheeses for 7 days. A control group (fed no cheese) was also included. Intestinal FE activity, oxidative status, and intestinal microbiota counts were determined. L. fermentum CRL1446 counts were ~9 log cfu/g of cheese, and FE activity increased during ripening. Mice fed CRL1446 and Mix cheeses showed a ~2-fold increase of total intestinal FE activity compared to control mice. In mice fed Mix cheese, a 30% decrease in plasma lipoperoxide levels, and a 2.7-fold increase in glutathione reductase activity were observed, indicating an improvement of oxidative status.Our results demonstrate that goat milk cheeses manufactured with L. fermentum CRL1446 as adjunct culture are a novel functional food that might favour the release of dietary antioxidant ferulic acid in vivo.