Affiliations: Research and Development Division, Daiwa
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan | Graduate School of Agriculture and Biological
Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan | Department of Legal Medicine, Dokkyo University School
of Medicine, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi 321-0293, Japan
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Research and Development Division,
Daiwa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 1-16-19 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
154-0024, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 5430 4050; Fax: +81 3 3422 5399; E-mail:
maeda@daiwa-pharm.com
Abstract: Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens was reported to produce an
exopolysaccharide named kefiran. In the present study, we developed a new
medium, rice hydrolyzate (RH) medium, for the culture of L.
kefiranofaciens. Structural analyses revealed that the exopolysaccharide
produced by L. kefiranofaciens from RH medium was composed of a
hexasaccharide repeating unit, and essentially identical to the kefiran
reported in previous studies. A study on the effects of kefiran in animals
demonstrated that kefiran significantly suppressed increase of blood pressure
and reduced the serum cholesterol levels in SHRSP/Hos rats when subjects
consumed excessive dietary cholesterol. Kefiran supplementation demonstrated
the ability to significantly lower blood glucose in KKAy mice. In addition, the
administration of kefiran in constipated SD rats caused an obvious improvement
in the levels of fecal moisture and wet weights of feces. These results suggest
that kefiran could be used as a functional food to prevent some commonly
occurring diseases.
