CERELA   05438
CENTRO DE REFERENCIA PARA LACTOBACILOS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Probiotics for everyone! The novel immunobiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 and the beginning of Social Probiotic Programs in Argentina
Autor/es:
VILLENA JULIO; SALVA SUSANA; NUÑEZ DE KAIRUZ MARTHA; CORZO JOSEFINA; TOLABA RENÉ; FAEDDA JULIO; FONT GRACIELA; ALVAREZ SUSANA
Lugar:
Kuala Lumpur
Reunión:
Conferencia; 4th International Conference on Biotechnology for the Wellness Industry.; 2012
Resumen:
Lactic acid bacteria have various beneficial effects on human health and are biotechnologically and commercially important for the wellness industry. With the aim of developing a new functional food able to improve intestinal and respiratory immunity we evaluated the immunostimulatory activities of several lactobacilli from the CERELA culture collection. Among the strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 (Lr1505) was able to stimulate innate and adaptive immune responses in the gut in a dose-dependent way and to improve resistance against Salmonella typhimurium infection. Lr1505 was also capable to increase resistance of immunocompetent and immunocompromised malnourished mice against pneumococcal respiratory infection. Considering that common respiratory infectious diseases continue to be a major cause of death among preschool children in developing countries, and that the identification of feasible strategies to combat this disease burden is an important public health need, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Lr1505 on the health of children. Clinical studies were performed in 298 preschool infants and supported by Argentina and Tucuman governments. Healthy children, 2 to 5 years of age, attending daycare centers in Tucuman (Argentina) were recruited into the study with parents’ written consents. This was a randomized-controlled double-blind clinical trial in which a yogurt containing the probiotic Lr1505 was administered to children for 6 months (five times a week). Results were statistically evaluated and compared with a similar population of children from the same community center that received a placebo yogurt (without probiotic) with similar characteristics. Administration of Lr1505 to young children reduced the incidence of infections: 66% of children in the placebo group presented symptoms of infection while only 34% of cases were detected in the Lr1505 group. Significant differences (p<0.05) were detected in the incidence of intestinal infections (74 vs 26%), upper respiratory tract infections (69 vs 31%) and angina (72 vs 28%) when placebo and Lr1505 groups were compared. Children fed Lr1505 experienced fewer fevers and needed fewer antibiotics than those receiving the placebo. The protective effect of Lr1505 was associated with increased levels of mucosal IgA antibodies. Our research demonstrates that Lr1505 is a promising resource for the development of prevention strategies against intestinal and respiratory infections that could be effective tools for medical application. This new probiotic strain has been included into official Nutritional Programs in Argentina and it is given to more than 200 thousand children. This project has encouraged local milk production, thanks to the constant demand of probiotic yogurt containing L. rhamnosus CRL1505 (YOGURITO) by provincial governments, while incorporating innovation to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).