• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.1252-1262
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• 2023

Objective: Microencapsulation technologies have been developed and successfully applied to protect the probiotic bacterial cells damaged by environmental exposure. This study aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum MB001 on the growth performance, ileal nutrient digestibility, jejunal histomorphology and cecal microbiome of broiler chickens in a tropical climate. Methods: A total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds). Treatments included, i) a basal diet (NC), ii) NC + avilamycin (10 mg/kg) (PC), iii) NC + non-encapsulated L. plantarum MB001 (1×10⁸ colony-forming unit [CFU]/kg of diet) (N-LP), iv) NC + microencapsulated L. plantarum MB001 (1×10⁸ CFU/kg of diet) (ME-LP). Results: Dietary supplementation of ME-LP improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas ME-LP did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. Both N-LP and ME-LP improved apparent ileal digestibility of crude protein and ether extract compared with NC group (p<0.05). The broilers fed ME-LP supplemented diet exhibited a beneficial effect on jejunal histomorphology of villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) of broilers compared to NC group (p<0.05). At the phylum level, Firmicutes was enriched (p<0.05) and Proteobacteria was decreased (p<0.05) only in the ME-LP group. At the genus level, the ME-LP diets increased (p<0.05) the number of both Lactobacillus and Enterococcus compared to NC, PC, and N-LP groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Microencapsulation assists the efficient functioning of probiotics. ME-LP could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of cecal microbiota, gut integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broilers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.519-526
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• 2023

Panax ginseng is one of the most important herbal medicinal plants consumed as health functional food and can be fermented to achieve better efficacy. Lacticaseibacillus, one of the representative genera among lactic acid bacteria (LAB), has also been used as a probiotic material for health functional foods due to its beneficial effects on the human body. To achieve a synergistic effect by using these excellent dietary supplement ingredients together, a novel LAB strain was isolated from the root of 6-year-old ginseng. Through similarity analysis of 16S rRNAs and whole-genome sequences, the strain was confirmed as belonging to the genus Lacticaseibacillus and was named L. casei KGC1201. KGC1201 not only met all safety standards as food, but also showed excellent probiotic properties such as acid resistance, bile salt resistance, and intestinal adhesion. In particular, KGC1201 exhibited superior acid resistance through morphological observation identifying that the cell surface damage of KGC1201 was less than that of the L. casei type strain KCTC3109. Gene expression studies were conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of KGC1201's acid resistance, and the expression of the glycosyltransferase gene was found to be significantly elevated under acidic conditions. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) biosynthesized by glycosyltransferase were also increased in KGC1201 compared to KCTC3109, which may contribute to better protection of KGC1201 cells from strong acidity. Therefore, KGC1201, with its increased acid resistance through molecular mechanisms and excellent probiotic properties, can be used in health functional foods to provide greater benefit to overall human health and well-being.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.353-373
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• 2023

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with salted fermented vegetables and contains various nutrients and functional substances with potential health benefits. The fermentation process used to make kimchi creates chemical changes in the food, developing nutrients and functional substances that are more easily absorbed and enhanced by the body. Recent studies have shown that several lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from kimchi exhibit probiotic properties and have several health benefiting properties such as such as anticancer, anti-obesity, and anti-constipation; they also promote colon health and cholesterol reduction in in vitro and in vivo experiments, as well as in epidemiological cohort studies. Kimchi contains prebiotics, non-digestible fibers that nourish beneficial gut bacteria; therefore, its intake effectively provides both probiotics and prebiotics for improved gut health and a fortified gut-derived immune system. Furthermore, fermentation of kimchi produces a variety of metabolites that enhance its functionality. These metabolites include organic acids, enzymes, vitamins, bioactive compounds, bacteriocins, exopolysaccharides, and γ-aminobutyric acid. These diverse health-promoting metabolites are not readily obtainable from single food sources, positioning kimchi as a valuable dietary option for acquiring these essential components. In this review, the health functionalities of kimchi ingredients, lactic acid bacteria strains, and health-promoting metabolites from kimchi are discussed for their properties and roles in kimchi fermentation. In conclusion, consuming kimchi can be beneficial for health. We highlight the benefits of kimchi consumption and establish a rationale for including kimchi in a balanced, healthy diet.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.492-502
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• 2023

This study investigated the antioxidant and immune enhancement activities of Artemisia argyi H. fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum. The fermented A. argyi H. ethanol extract increased scavenging activities of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS⁺), hydroxyl (·OH), and superoxide (O₂^-) radicals. Particularly, the ethanol extract of fermented A. argyi H. exhibited higher ·OH and O₂^- radical scavenging activities, compared with DPPH and ABTS⁺ radical scavenging activities. To evaluate the immune enhancement effects of the fermented A. argyi H., mice were fed a normal diet supplemented the fermented A. argyi H. at concentrations of 1%, 2%, and 5%, respectively. The supplementation of fermented A. argyi H. dose-dependently increased splenocyte proliferation. In addition, mice fed with 5% fermented A. argyi H. showed enhanced proliferation of T-cells and B-cells, along with increased levels of interferon-γ, interleukin-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α, compared to the normal group. Furthermore, mice fed with fermented A. argyi H. exhibited an increase in prominent probiotics such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Lactobacillus in gut microbiota, compared to the normal group. This study suggests that fermented A. argyi H. with Lactobacillus plantarum could be used as a dietary antioxidant and immune enhancement agent.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.988-1010
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• 2024

Obesity, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is excessive fat accumulation that can pose health risks and is a disorder of the energy homeostasis system. In typical westernized diets, ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) vastly exceed the amount of ω-3 PUFAs, with ω-6/ω-3 ratios ranging from 10:1 to 25:1. ω-6 PUFAs, such as arachidonic acid, have pro-inflammatory effects and increase obesity. On the other hand, ω-3 PUFAs, including eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, have anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity effects. Linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) are synthesized in almost all higher plants, algae, and some fungi. However, in humans and animals, they are essential fatty acids and must be consumed through diet or supplementation. Therefore, balancing LA/ALA ratios is essential for obesity prevention and human health. Monogastric animals such as pigs and chickens can produce meat and eggs fortified with ω-3 PUFAs by controlling dietary fatty acid (FA). Additionally, ruminant animals such as feeder cattle and lactating dairy cows can opt for feed supplementation with ω-3 PUFAs sources and rumen-protected microencapsulated FAs or pasture finishing. This method can produce ω-3 PUFAs and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) fortified meat, milk, and cheese. A high ω-6/ω-3 ratio is associated with proinflammation and obesity, whereas a balanced ratio reduces inflammation and obesity. Additionally, probiotics containing lactic acid bacteria are necessary, which reduces inflammation and obesity by converting ω-6 PUFAs into functional metabolites such as 10-hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoic acid and CLA.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2007

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary single or mixed supplementation of plant extract, fermented medicinal plants and Lactobacillus on performance, nutrient availability, blood characteristics, cecal microflora and intestinal digestive enzymes activity in broiler chickens and to prove the possibility of plant derived compounds and Lactobacillus as an antibiotic growth promoter alternative. A total of eight hundred forty, 1-d-old male broiler chicks (Ross strain) were randomly divided into 7 groups with 4 replicates of 30 birds each. The treatments were NC (antibiotic-free diet), PC (basal diet with 0.05% antibiotics and 0.03% anticoccidials), PE (basal diet with 0.1% plant extract), FMP (basal diet with 0.1% fermented medicinal plants), LB (basal diet with 0.1% probiotics), PE+LB (basal diet with 0.1% plant extract and 0.1% probiotics) and FMP+LB (basal diet with 0.1% fermented medicinal plants and 0.1% probiotics). The final body weight, body weight gain and feed conversion rate in all treated groups tended to be improved or significantly improved as compared to those of NC (P<0.05). PE was significantly high in the final body weight, body weight gain of all treated groups (P<0.05). But the growth performance was significantly lower in all treated groups except PE than PC (P<0.05). No synergic effect in growth performance was found when plant extracts and Lactobacillus were mixed and fed to broilers. The ratio of albumin to globulin was significantly lower in all groups than NC (P<0.05). And the stress indicator (lymphocyte/heterophil ratio) of NC was significantly reduced than other treatments (P<0.05). No significant differences were observed on the numbers of cecal microbes and Lactobacillus. The number of cecal E. coli and Salmonella in FMP and LB were significantly reduced (P<0.05). The activity of intestinal digestive enzymes except to sucrase of treated groups significantly decreased compare to those of controls (P<0.05). These results suggest the possibility that plant extracts and Lactobacillus could be used as the alternative of antibiotic growth promoters by improving the performance of broiler chicks.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.352-360
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• 2014

We evaluated the growth performance, biochemical characteristics, and immune responses in weaning pigs given a diet containing MR-1 (0.2%/feed) or antibiotics (0.1%/feed) for 45 days. In vitro study showed that MR-1 has antibacterial activity against a variety of strains of pathogenic bacteria, especially a strain of cattle-derived Escherichia coli K99 (E. coli K99) by agar diffusion assay. In the in vivo model, 0.2% MR-1-given group clearly ameliorated the weight gain and feed efficiency in the growth performance of weaning pigs compared to the basal diet group (p<0.05). Additionally, 0.2% MR-1 induced an elevation in the levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and showed a similar pattern ($TNF{\alpha}$ and $IFN{\gamma}$ production) to the antibiotic treated pigs. Taken together, we suggest that 0.2% MR-1 makes probiotics an alternative to antibiotics in weaning pigs.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2006

A total of 120 pigs were used to investigate the effect of feeding probiotics on quality properties of pork. About 6 kg pigs were randomly alloted into one or three experimental diet groups (C: commercial diet feed; T1: 0.1% KBC1121 feed; T2: 0.1% YC2000+0.1% KBC1121 feed). Pigs were slaughtered at approximately 110 kg live weight and chemical composition and physico-chemical characteristics were measured in pork loin. Moisture, crude protein and crude ash were not differences among the treatments. However, crude fat content of T2 was significantly higher than that of other treatments. All of dietary probiotic groups showed significantly higher pH than control. WHC was significantly higher in T1 than other treatments. Cooking loss, shear force value and cholesterol content were not differences among the treatments. In meat color, $L^*$ value was not difference among the treatments, but $a^*\;and\;b^*$ value were lower in T1 than other treatments. In textrure properties of cooked meat, brittleness, hardness, gumminess and chewiness value were significantly higher in T1 than other treatments. Sensory evaluation was not difference among the treatments. The myristic, stearic and oleic acid content of T2 were significantly higher than those of other treatments. Whereas linoleic acid was significantly lower than other treatments. Unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) was significantly higher in T1 than T2. Essential fatty acid (EFA) and EFA/UFA were higher in the order of T1 > C > T2. In amino acid composition, total and essential amino acid, aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, valine, isoleucine, leucine and lysine level were lower in T2 than other treatments.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1131-1140
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• 2014

This research focused on the effects of different doses of Bacillus subtilis KN-42 on the growth performance, diarrhea incidence, faecal bacterial flora, and the relative number of Lactobacillus and Escherichia coli in faeces of weaned piglets to determine whether the strain can serve as a candidate antimicrobial growth promoter. A total of 360 piglets (initial body weight $7.14{\pm}0.63$ kg) weaned at $26{\pm}2$ days of age were randomly allotted to 5 treatment groups (4 pens per treatment with 18 pigs per pen) for a 28-day trial. Dietary treatments were basal diet without any antimicrobial (negative control; NC), basal diet supplemented with 120 mg/kg feed of neomycin sulfate (positive control; PC) and basal diet supplemented with $2{\times}10^9$ (L), $4{\times}10^9$ (M) and $20{\times}10^9$ (H) CFU/kg feed of B. subtilis KN-42. During the overall period, average daily gain and feed efficiency of piglets were higher in groups PC, M, and H than those in group NC (p<0.05), and all probiotics and antibiotics groups had a lower diarrhea index than group NC (p<0.05). The 16S rDNA gene-based methods were used to analyze faecal bacterial flora on day 28 of experiment. The result of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis showed that supplementation of B. subtilis KN-42 to the diet changed the bacterial communities, with a higher bacterial diversity and band number in group M than in the other four groups. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the relative number of Lactobacillus were higher in groups PC and H than in group NC (p<0.05), and the supplemented B. subtilis KN-42 to the diet also reduced the relative number of E. coli (p<0.05). These results suggest that dietary addition of B. subtilis KN-42 can improve the growth performance and gastrointestinal health of piglets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.655-661
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• 2011

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Bacillus, Saccharomyces and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on performance and nutrient digestibility in grower and finisher pigs. In Exp. 1, 80 pigs (32 females and 48 males), $28.7{\pm}0.9\;kg$ body weight (BW), were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups balanced for sex and weight (5 pigs per pen, 4 pens per treatment). They were fed one of four diets: a basal grower (20-50 kg BW) and finisher (>50 kg BW) diet without any addition of probiotic or antibiotic (diet C), the basal diet supplemented with Bacillus subtilis H4 (diet B), diet B supplemented with Saccharomyces boulardi Sb (diet BS) and diet BS supplemented with a LAB complex (diet BSL). The LAB complex consisted of Enterococcus faecium 6H2, Lactobacillus acidophilus C3, Pediococcus pentosaceus D7, and Lactobacillus fermentum NC1. In Exp. 2, 16 male pigs, $29.2{\pm}0.8\;kg$ BW, were kept in individual pens and divided into 4 groups (4 pigs in each group). All 4 groups were given exactly the same growing-period diets (diet C, B, BS and BSL) as in Exp 1. The total faeces and urine were collected during 5 days (day 20-24) to determine nitrogen retention and total tract digestibility. In the growing period, average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not affected by diet B and BS (p>0.05), but ADG increased (+5.9%) (p<0.05) and FCR improved (+5.9%) (p<0.05) on diet BSL compared with the control, although ADFI was not different (p>0.05). Digestibility of crude protein and organic matter was higher (p<0.05) in diet BSL and digestibility of crude fibre was higher (p<0.05) in diet BS and BSL than in diet C. Nitrogen retention was not affected by diet (p>0.05). The faecal LAB counts were increased in grower pigs fed diet BSL (p<0.05) and faecal E. coli counts were decreased in pigs fed diets BS and BSL (p<0.05). In the finishing period, no effects of diet were found in ADFI, ADG, FCR, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen retention (p>0.05). Faecal LAB and E. coli counts in the finisher pigs were not affected by diet (p>0.05). In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that a mixture of bacteria and yeast has the potential to be used as a probiotic dietary supplement in grower pigs.