Maternal administration of probiotics is known to be effective for prevention of allergic symptoms in babies by suppressing the immune reaction to orally ingested proteins (oral tolerance). We investigated whether breast milk nourishment by mother mice that had been orally administrated Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (LG2055) with food antigen contributed to allergy prevention in their pups. Female BALB/c mice (dams) were fed a diet containing casein (C group) , egg white (E group) , or egg white with LG2055 (E＋LG group). After induction of pregnancy, pups fed on their dam's milk were systemically immunized with ovalbumin (OVA). Then, at the age of seven weeks, the pups were given an intragastric OVA challenge. The incidence of diarrhea was significantly suppressed in pups of the E＋LG group relative to the E group. Moreover, the amounts of total IgA and OVA-specific IgA immune complex (IgA-IC) in the breast milk were significantly increased by administration of LG2055. These findings suggest that the increase of IgA-IC in breast milk by LG2055 might closely correlate with enhancement of oral tolerance in pups.

The use of inorganic phosphorus as an additive in various processed foods has raised concerns about possible overdose, especially in view of the increased consumption of such products. Although the total amount of inorganic phosphorus used as a food additive is unknown, >90％ of inorganic phosphorus is absorbed, in comparison with 40‐60％ of organic phosphorus. In the present study, the inorganic and total phosphorus contents of different processed foods were determined in an attempt to estimate the intake of each type of phosphorus. Ortho-, pyro-, and triphosphates were separated by anion exchange chromatography. Elution with a linear gradient effectively separated these phosphates, and >90％ were recovered. Inorganic phosphorus comprised >50％ of the total phosphorus in 4 out of 5 processed foods. The phosphorus to protein mass ratio in some processed foods was >15 mg/g, which is a standard average in food. These findings may be useful for managing patients with chronic kidney disease.