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Supplement: Effects of Probiotics and Prebiotics

Effects of a Fermented Milk Drink Containing Lactobacillus casei Strain Shirota on the Human NK-Cell Activity^1,2

Department of Immunlogy, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kokumura{at}med.Juntendo.ac.jp.

Nine healthy middle-aged and 10 elderly volunteers drank fermented milk containing 4 x 10¹⁰ live cells of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota daily for 3 wk, and their natural killer (NK) activity and other immunological functions were examined. In the experiments with middle-aged volunteers, NK activity significantly increased (P < 0.01) 3 wk after the start of intake, elevated NK cell activity remained for the next 3 wk, and this effect was particularly prominent in the low-NK-activity individuals. In the experiments with elderly volunteers, NK activity significantly decreased (P < 0.01) in the control group 3 wk after the start of intake; however, the intake of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota maintained the NK activity. These results suggest that daily intake of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota provides a positive effect on NK-cell activity.