Yakult (Netherlands)

The geographies where Muslims lived in the Middle Ages had very fertile lands in terms of underground and aboveground resources.In the vast lands from China and India in the east to Muslim Spain in the west, from the Caucasus in the north to Central Africa in the south, all metals including gold and silver, as well as all kinds of precious stones, primarily ruby and pearls that those were kinds noble stones and also their trades were done.Preserving the vitality of these two areas (production and trade) was of course possible by introducing precious stones into the market in the form of jewellery and ornaments after very important processes.The excessive demand and passion of use, especially for the expensive ones of these stones and the luxury items made from them, of the palace members and rich stratum in the Islamic world, inevitably enlivened the market.For this reason, particularly ruby, ruby-like and pearl-like gemstones found buyers at very high prices in the Islamic world.However, as inexpensive precious stones also found significant buyers, especially from the middle and poor strata, they were put into the market in large quantities.Jewellery prices in the medieval Islamic world varied greatly from one country to another, from one age to another.At the same time, according to the commercial skills and skills of the merchants dealing with this professional, the craftsmanship of ornaments made of precious stones, the economic fluctuations of the period (such as prosperity and crisis periods), and the proximity and distance of the quarries from the place of sale, there were great differences.In this study, we tried to make an evaluation in the light of the information given by our sources about jewellery prices, which had a vibrant production and trade in the Early and Late Middle Ages since the birth of Islam.In addition, we have not neglected to mention other aspects of precious stones in order not to overwhelm the work with numbers.With this situation, the study inevitably exceeded the limit for readers and researchers.If we have a fault, be forgiven!

Recent developments in the understanding of the relationship between the microbiota and its host have provided evidence regarding the therapeutic potential of selected microorganisms to prevent or treat disease. According to Directive 2001/83/EC, in the European Union (EU), any product intended to prevent or treat disease is defined as a medicinal product and requires a marketing authorization by competent authorities prior to commercialization. Even if the pharmaceutical regulatory framework is harmonized at the EU level, obtaining marketing authorisations for medicinal products remains very challenging for Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs). Compared to other medicinal products currently on the market, safety assessment of LBPs represents a real challenge because of their specific characteristics and mode of action. Indeed, LBPs are not intended to reach the systemic circulation targeting distant organs, tissues, or receptors, but rather exert their effect through direct interactions with the complex native microbiota and/or the modulation of complex host-microbiota relation, indirectly leading to distant biological effects within the host. Hence, developers must rely on a thorough risk analysis, and pharmaceutical guidelines for other biological products should be taken into account in order to design relevant non-clinical and clinical development programmes. Here we aim at providing a roadmap for a risk analysis that takes into account the specificities of LBPs. We describe the different risks associated with these products and their interactions with the patient. Then, from that risk assessment, we propose solutions to design non-clinical programmes and First in Human (FIH) early clinical trials appropriate to assess LBP safety.

This report summarises talks given at the 8th International Yakult Symposium, held on 23-24 April 2015 in Berlin. Two presentations explored different aspects of probiotic intervention: the small intestine as a probiotic target and inclusion of probiotics into integrative approaches to gastroenterology. Probiotic recommendations in gastroenterology guidelines and current data on probiotic efficacy in paediatric patients were reviewed. Updates were given on probiotic and gut microbiota research in obesity and obesity-related diseases, the gut-brain axis and development of psychobiotics, and the protective effects of equol-producing strains for prostate cancer. Recent studies were presented on probiotic benefit for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and people with HIV, as well as protection against the adverse effects of a short-term high-fat diet. Aspects of probiotic mechanisms of activity were discussed, including immunomodulatory mechanisms and metabolite effects, the anti-inflammatory properties of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, the relationship between periodontitis, microbial production of butyrate in the oral cavity and ageing, and the pathogenic mechanisms of Campylobacter. Finally, an insight was given on a recent expert meeting, which re-examined the probiotic definition, advised on the appropriate use and scope of the term and outlined different probiotic categories and the prevalence of different mechanisms of activity.

Our aim was to determine whether a fermented milk drink containing probiotics could improve the bowel habits of frail elderly individuals living in a nursing home. A total of 135 participants were enrolled in this pilot study. The bowel habits (stool quality and bowel movements) were recorded by nursing staff during a baseline period of 3 weeks. After this period participants received daily a fermented milk drink containing minimally 6.5×10(9) colony forming units of Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) for 6 weeks. During this period, bowel habits were recorded and compared to baseline period. Forty-four participants (74-99 years old) were compliant and used for analysis. Consumption of fermented milk containing LcS significantly increased the percentage of ideal stool types per week (P<0.01), lowered the percentage of constipation stool types per week (P<0.01) and significantly lowered the percentage of diarrhoea stool types per week (P=0.016) as compared to the baseline period. The study product had no significant effect on bowel movements. During the study, no changes in laxative usage or adverse events associated with the study product were reported. Our results suggest that a fermented milk containing LcS significantly improves the bowel habits of frail elderly residents in a nursing home. These promising results should be further substantiated by a confirmatory study.

Since 2005, lectin microarray technology has emerged as a simple and powerful technique for comprehensive glycan analysis. By using evanescent-field fluorescence detection technique, it has been applied for analysis of not only glycoproteins and glycolipids secreted by eukaryotic cells but also glycoconjugates on the cell surface of live eukaryotic cells. Bacterial cells are known to be decorated with polysaccharides, teichoic acids, and proteins in the peptide glycans of their cell wall and lipoteichoic acids in their phospholipid bilayer. Specific glycan structures are characteristic of many highly pathogenic bacteria, while polysaccharides moiety of lactic acid bacteria are known to play a role as probiotics to modulate the host immune response. However, the method of analysis and knowledge of glycosylation structure of bacteria are limited. Here, we describe the development of a simple and sensitive method based on lectin microarray technology for direct analysis of intact bacterial cell surface glycomes. The method involves labeling bacterial cells with SYTOX Orange before incubation with the lectin microarray. After washing, bound cells are directly detected using an evanescent-field fluorescence scanner in a liquid phase. The entire procedure takes 3 h from putting labeled bacteria on the microarray to profiling its lectin binding affinity. Using this method, we compared the cell surface glycomes from 16 different strains of L. casei/paracasei. The lectin binding profile of most strains was found to be unique. Our technique provides a novel strategy for rapid profiling of bacteria and enables us to differentiate numerous bacterial strains with relevance to the biological functions of surface glycosylation.

This chapter contains sections titled: From theory to practice: the challenge of Dr Minoru Shirota Health benefits of Yakult and L. casei Shirota Safety Health claims for L. casei Shirota and the product Yakult Current perspectives