Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
9.3.2 Possibilities That
L. casei
shirota Protects
against Allergic rhinitis
Ivory et al.
12
investigated the effect of the daily ingestion of a fermented milk bev-
erage containing
L. casei
Shirota (6.5 × 10
9
CFU/bottle) over a period of 5 months on
seasonal allergic rhinitis in 20 people by conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled
study. First, the antibody levels of the plasma were measured; next, the peripheral blood
mononuclear cells were cultured; and finally, their cytokine levels were measured. By
intake of a fermented milk drink containing
L. casei
Shirota, the level of specific
immunoglobulin G (IgG) increased while the level of IgE decreased. Furthermore,
ingestion of the fermented drink decreased the production of antigen-induced interleu-
kin 5 (IL-5), IL-6, and interferon gamma (IFN-γ). These results suggest that
L. casei
Shirota modulated the immune response in allergic rhinitis, but further studies are
needed to investigate the effect of
L. casei
Shirota on allergic rhinitis symptoms.
Tamura et al.
13
conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
in subjects with allergic rhinitis triggered by Japanese cedar pollen. Subjects were
given a fermented beverage containing 4.0 × 10
10
CFU of
L. casei
Shirota or a
placebo drink for 8 weeks. Consequently, oral administration of
L. casei
Shirota
delayed the deterioration of nasal symptoms by 1 week, compared to the placebo
group. In comparing the subgroups of mild and moderate-to-severe nasal symptoms,
the nasal symptom scores in moderate-to-severe cases in the
L. casei
Shirota group
were lower than that of placebo group at 4 and 5 weeks. These results suggest that
L. casei
Shirota may delay the onset of the allergic symptoms in patients with mod-
erate-to-severe scores.
9.4 ANTITuMor EFFECTs
9.4.1 Preventive Effect on the recurrence of bladder Cancer
Aso et al. have reported that
L. casei
Shirota preparation (Biolactis
®
Powder, BLP,
which contains 1.0 × 10
10
cells of viable
L. casei
Shirota per gram, Yakult Honsha,
Tokyo, Japan) was effective for reducing the recurrence of bladder cancer.
14,15
Ohashi et al.
16
conducted an epidemiological study on the effect that lifestyle
habits (such as smoking or habitual intake of a fermented drink containing
L. casei
Shirota) has on the risk of developing bladder cancer. Smoking was concluded to be
a 1.6 times higher risk factor than not smoking, and a frequent intake of this probi-
otic beverage (once to twice a week) was related to about 50 percent reduction risk
of bladder cancer compared to occasional intake of
L. casei
Shirota (once to twice
a month).
9.4.2 Preventive Effect on Colorectal Cancer
Ishikawa et al.
17
investigated whether the administration of dietary fiber and
L.
casei
Shirota prevented the occurrence of colorectal tumors. The subjects in this
