Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria primarily perform lactic acid fermentation by utilizing monosaccharides such as glucose. However, the polysaccharide fructan, which is the main component of garlic, generally cannot be fermented. We recently investigated fructan-utilizing bacteria to create lactic acid bacteria-fermented garlic food and isolated the Lactobacillus plantarum S506 strain from pickled shallots. We were able to efficiently perform lactic acid fermentation with the S506 strain using garlic fructan as the only source of carbohydrate. The fermented garlic extract obtained with the isolated S506 strain as a starter markedly increased interleukin-12 (IL-12) production, an indicator of innate immune enhancement, in experiment using J774.1 macrophage-like cells derived from BALB/c mice. The main active ingredient in this IL-12 production-promoting action was suggested to be a component newly generated through fermentation. This lactic acid bacteria-fermented garlic food with a newly added immunological function is expected to be useful for maintaining health.
