Effect of Nanometric Lactobacillus plantarum in Kimchi on Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice.

Nanometric Lactobacillus plantarum (nLp) is a processed form of Lab. plantarum derived from kimchi and is 0.5-1.0 μm in size. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of nLp and kimchi plus nLp (K-nLp) on a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mouse model of colitis. Animals fed nLp or K-nLp had longer colons, but lower colon weights per unit length than DSS controls. In addition, nLp- or K-nLp-fed animals showed lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines and inflammatory genes in serum and in colon tissues, lower populations of total bacteria, but higher populations of lactic acid bacteria in feces, and lower activities of fecal β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase. Furthermore, these suppressive activities of nLp on colitis were equivalent to or higher than those of naive Lab. plantarum. Consequently, nLp was found to exhibit anticolitic effects, and the addition of nLp to kimchi was found to enhance the protective activity of kimchi against DSS-induced colitis. These results suggest that nLp might be an effective substitute for live probiotics and be useful as a functional ingredient with the anticolitic activity by the probiotic and food processing industries.