Lactococcus lactis KF140 Reduces Dietary Absorption of Nε - (Carboxymethyl)lysine in Rats and Humans via β-Galactosidase Activity

Fructose-mediated AGE-RAGE axis: approaches for mild modulation

Fructose is a valuable and healthy nutrient when consumed at normal levels (≤50 g/day). However, long-term consumption of excessive fructose and elevated endogenous production can have detrimental health impacts. Fructose-initiated nonenzymatic glycation (fructation) is considered as one of the most likely mechanisms leading to the generation of reactive species and the propagation of nonenzymatic processes. In the later stages of glycation, poorly degraded advanced glycation products (AGEs) are irreversibly produced and accumulated in the organism in an age- and disease-dependent manner. Fructose, along with various glycation products-especially AGEs-are present in relatively high concentrations in our daily diet. Both endogenous and exogenous AGEs exhibit a wide range of biological effects, mechanisms of which can be associated with following: (1) AGEs are efficient sources of reactive species in vivo, and therefore can propagate nonenzymatic vicious cycles and amplify glycation; and (2) AGEs contribute to upregulation of the specific receptor for AGEs (RAGE), amplifying RAGE-mediated signaling related to inflammation, metabolic disorders, chronic diseases, and aging. Therefore, downregulation of the AGE-RAGE axis appears to be a promising approach for attenuating disease conditions associated with RAGE-mediated inflammation. Importantly, RAGE is not specific only to AGEs; it can bind multiple ligands, initiating a complex RAGE signaling network that is not fully understood. Maintaining an appropriate balance between various RAGE isoforms with different functions is also crucial. In this context, mild approaches related to lifestyle-such as diet optimization, consuming functional foods, intake of probiotics, and regular moderate physical activity-are valuable due to their beneficial effects and their ability to mildly modulate the fructose-mediated AGE-RAGE axis.

Improvement of skin condition and intestinal microbiota via Heyndrickxia coagulans SANK70258 intake: A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group comparative study

OBJECTIVE

Heyndrickxia coagulans SANK70258, a representative probiotic, is known for alleviating inflammation caused by cedar pollen, improving the intestinal environment and bowel movements. A previous study on consuming H. coagulans SANK70258 together with galactooligosaccharides showed a trend toward improvement in skin scaliness scores and subjective assessments of skin roughness. However, the effect of H. coagulans SANK70258 alone on the skin remains unclear. Thus, we aimed to re-evaluate the effects of the intake of H. coagulans SANK70258 alone on skin conditions and the intestinal environment through a clinical trial.

METHODS

This placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial involved 80 Japanese women aged 30 to 65 with perceived skin roughness. Participants were divided into placebo and test groups. Over eight weeks, the test group consumed H. coagulans SANK70258, and its effects on skin condition and intestinal health were examined.

RESULTS

The probiotic group showed significant intestinal improvements, with reduced fecal phenol levels (p = 0.044) and pH (p = 0.022), as well as enhanced skin lightness (L* value) (p = 0.040) and liver function tests. Metabolic analyses revealed decreases in fecal Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine and plasma hydroxyproline, suggesting skin health benefits. There were also significant improvements in skin scaliness (p = 0.015) and bowel movement frequency (p = 0.032) in subgroup analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

H. coagulans SANK70258 can improve skin health by improving the intestinal lining. This probiotic reduces the levels of intestinal putrefactive products and advanced glycation end-product levels in feces, suggesting that it may affect not only skin health but also systemic tissues such as the liver.

Lactococcus lactis KF140 Ameliorates Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induced by Nε-Carboxymethyl-Lysine and High-Fat Diet

SCOPE

Long-term consumption of excessive dietary advanced glycation end-products such as Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), which are produced by the Maillard reaction during food thermal processing, leads to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) along with high fat consumption. The study previously finds that administration of Lactococcus lactis KF140 (LL-KF140) detoxifies CML by decreasing CML absorption both in a rat model and clinical trial.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The present study evaluates the ameliorative effect of LL-KF140 on NAFLD and fatty liver-related biomarkers in a mouse model induced by CML and high fat. LL-KF140 is orally administered to mice at a concentration of 1 × 107 or 1 × 108 colony-forming unit (CFU) per mouse for 8 weeks. LL-KF140 administration ameliorates the NAFLD-related symptoms by reducing body weight and fat mass gain along with levels of serum aspartate transaminase, alanine transferase, and lipids as well as glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in CML-treated mice. In addition, histological analysis including staining and western blotting shows that LL-KF140 suppresses the lipogenesis pathway and CML absorption, thereby suppressing CML-induced NAFLD.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that LL-KF140 attenuates dietary CML-induced NAFLD by suppressing the de novo lipogenesis pathway, and it may be used as a probiotic strain.

Probiotic and immunostimulating effects of live and heat-killed Pediococcus pentosaceus TAP041

The selected strain, TAP041, showing an excellent ability to reduce the glyoxal and methylglyoxal levels, was identified by 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis as Pediococcus pentosaceus. It demonstrated probiotic properties, including acid, bile salt, pancreatin, lysozyme tolerance, gut adhesion, and auto/coaggregation. In RAW264.7 macrophages, both live and heat-killed strains induced nitric oxide production and activated inducible nitric oxide synthase. RAW264.7 treated with P. pentosaceus TAP041 increased the expression level of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and cyclooxygenase-2, and regulated the expression of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase, p38, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase. These findings suggest that both live and heat-killed P. pentosaceus TAP041 can be used as potential immunostimulatory agents in functional food additives.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-024-01530-2.

The inhibitory effects of endophytic metabolites on glycated proteins under non-communicable disease conditions: A review

Protein glycation in human body is closely linked to the onset/progression of diabetes associated complications. These glycated proteins are commonly known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Recent literature has also highlighted the involvement of AGEs in other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular, cancer, and Alzheimer's diseases and explored the impact of plant metabolites on AGEs formation. However, the significance of endophytic metabolites against AGEs has recently garnered attention but has not been thoroughly summarized thus far. Therefore, the objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the importance of endophytic metabolites in combating AGEs under NCDs conditions. Additionally, this review aims to elucidate the processes of AGEs formation, absorption, metabolism, and their harmful effects. Collectively, endophytic metabolites play a crucial role in modulating signaling pathways and enhancing the digestibility properties of gut microbiota (GM) by targeting on AGEs/RAGE (receptor for AGEs) axis. Furthermore, these metabolites exhibit anti-AGEs activities similar to those derived from host plants, but at a lower cost and higher production rate. The use of endophytes as a source of such metabolites offers a risk-free and sustainable approach that holds substantial potential for the treatment and management of NCDs.

Simultaneous analysis of advanced glycation end products using dansyl derivatization

Herein, new pre-column derivatization based on dansylation is present to resolve analytical difficulties, such as chromatographic separation difficulty, in identifying and quantifying advanced glycation end products (AGEs) owing to their high hydrophilicity, wide variety, and structural similarity. The proposed analytical method facilitated the separation of 14 AGEs, including structural isomers. Limits of detection of 1.0-43.3 ng/mL and linear ranges of the double- or triple-digit were achieved. Intra- and inter-day precisions of 1.1-3.0% and 1.3-3.1%, respectively, were achieved for standard solutions, while those for food specimens were 1.4-11.2% and 1.7-15.7%, respectively. The matrix effect was insignificant with regard to the percent recoveries and differences between slopes for both the standard solutions and food specimens. Furthermore, the quantitation results of AGEs in foods (coffee, beer, and sausage) and glycated proteins revealed the potential applicability of the developed method in various fields of food chemistry and biochemistry.

Metabolites from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis: Isolation, Structure Elucidation, and Antimicrobial Activity

Herein, we disclose the identification of novel metabolites from a potential probiotic strain, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, obtained from traditional dairy milk samples collected in Maharashtra, India (in January 2021). Isolated metabolites include pyrazin-2-carboxamide [1, pyrazinamide, a potential antitubercular drug], 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one (2, DDMP), 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (3), and hexadecanoic acid (4, palmitic acid). The chemical structures of these metabolites were elucidated through extensive 1D NMR (1H and 13C) and 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) analyses, high-resolution mass spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Furthermore, these novel metabolites exhibited potent inhibitory activities against various bacteria, fungi, and yeast strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging between 1.56 and 25 μg/mL, and compounds 1 and 3 were found to be most active against a wide range of microbial strains tested.

Dietary Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine is a trigger of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease under high-fat consumption

The irreversible glycation of proteins produces advanced glycation end products (AGEs) which are triggered to bind the receptor for AGE (RAGE), thereby activating mitogen-activated protein kinase/nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway and stimulating proinflammatory cytokines, ultimately leading to chronic disorders. In this study, we focus the promoting effect of Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), one of the most dietary AGEs, on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and evaluated NAFLD-related biomarkers. Oxidative stress and hepatic steatosis were assessed in oleic acid (OA)-induced HepG2 cells. Using OA-induced HepG2 cells, we show that CML results in oxidative stress and steatosis and drives major changes in hepatic lipid metabolism. Administration of CML exacerbated NAFLD-related symptoms by increasing body and liver weight gain, serum alanine aminotransferase and lipid levels, and insulin resistance in mild high-fat diet-induced mice. Moreover, hepatic histological analysis data, such as staining, western blotting, and RNA-seq, indicate that CML aggravates NAFLD in association with activation of the de novo lipogenesis pathway, consistent with the in vitro assays. Our findings could contribute to model studies related to the prevention and treatment of NAFLD progression due to excessive consumption of dietary AGEs.

Do advanced glycation end products contribute to food allergy?

Sugars can bind non-enzymatically to proteins, nucleic acids or lipids and form compounds called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). Although AGEs can form in vivo, factors in the Western diet such as high amounts of added sugars, processing methods such as dehydration of proteins, high temperature sterilisation to extend shelf life, and cooking methods such as frying and microwaving (and reheating), can lead to inordinate levels of dietary AGEs. Dietary AGEs (dAGEs) have the capacity to bind to the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) which is part of the endogenous threat detection network. There are persuasive epidemiological and biochemical arguments that correlate the rise in food allergy in several Western countries with increases in dAGEs. The increased consumption of dAGEs is enmeshed in current theories of the aetiology of food allergy which will be discussed.