BACKGROUND Adult lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignancy that occurs in white blood cells. The overall cure rate in children is 85%, whereas it is only 40% in adults. Kefir is an important probiotic that contains many bioactive ingredients, which give it unique health benefits. It has been shown to control several cellular types of cancer. PURPOSE The present study investigates the effec...

This study aimed to evaluate the hypocholesterolaemic property of milk-kefir and soyamilk-kefir. Male hamsters were fed on a cholesterol-free or cholesterol-enriched diet containing 10 % skimmed milk, milk-kefir, soyamilk or soyamilk-kefir for a period of 8 weeks. The soyamilk, milk-kefir and soyamilk-kefir diets all tended towards a lowering of serum triacylglycerol and total cholesterol conce...

The aim of this study was to develop a kefir apple-based vinegar and evaluate this fermentation process using new methodology with Biospeckle Laser. Brazilian kefir grains were inoculated in apple must for vinegar production. In this study, the microbial community present in kefir, and correspondent vinegar, was investigated using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization - Time of Flight Mas...

Milk kefir grains (KGs) are composed of a complex symbiotic microbial mixture of bacteria and yeasts growing in kefiran, an extracellular polysaccharide substance of bacterial origin. This is the first report documenting a successful attempt at reforming KGs using pure mixed starter-cultures of microorganisms isolated from KGs, and gain insight into an otherwise hidden world. A milk pouch syste...

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of colostrum on microbial populations of yogurt and kefir. For this purpose, raw bovine colostrum is freeze-dried and added to yogurt and kefir on 8% and 16% (w/w; colostrum/product) dilutions. The results showed that, effect of colostrum on total mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts of yogurt and kefir are negligible. Streptococcus thermoph...

The effect of oral administration of a polysaccharide (KGF-C), isolated from the kefir grain, on delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) induced by picryl chloride and on the growth of solid tumor was examined in mice. KGF-C caused an increase in DTH response in intact mice and also tumor-bearing mice. The growth of tumor inoculated after the DTH test was markedly inhibited in the groups with high ...

Kefir is becoming increasingly popular as a result of new research into its health benefits. It is a fermented milk drink which has its origin in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia. Kefir is prepared by inoculating milk with kefir grains which are a combination of bacteria and yeasts in a symbiotic matrix. The common microorganisms present are non-pathogenic bacteria, especially Lactobacillus sp....

OBJECTIVE The main causes of spinal cord ischemia are a variety of vascular pathologies causing acute arterial occlusions. We investigated neuroprotective effects of kefir on spinal cord ischemia injury in rats. METHODS Rats were divided into three groups : 1) sham operated control rats; 2) spinal cord ischemia group fed on a standard diet without kefir pretreatment; and 3) spinal cord ischem...

The injuries caused by spray drying (SD) of three potential probiotic lactobacilli isolated from kefir grains and the impact on some probiotic properties, were evaluated. Results demonstrated that Lactobacillus plantarum 83114 and L. kefir 8321 showed a slight reduction of viability (0.11 and 0.29 log CFU/ml respectively) after SD process, and L. kefir 8348 was found to be more sensitive to the...

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are microorganisms that benefit animals with allergic diseases and intestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease. We propose that LAB can prevent cardiomyocytes inflammation and apoptosis in BALB/c mice using an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergy. Thirty-nine male BALB/c mice were divided into five groups: normal control, allergy control and three allergy group...