Supplementation of standard fermented milk with additional probiotics was not of benefit. The high natural rate of early microbial exposure in infants and children from a population of low socio-economic status living in a "less hygienic environment" may account for the absence of an additional immune-stimulating effect by supplementary probiotics.

The effect of daily consumption of a yogurt containing Lactobacillus reuteri CRL 1098 on the lipid profile of hypercholesterolemic subjects was evaluated by performing a prospective, randomized, double-blind, cross-over placebo controlled clinical study. Participants consumed daily a yogurt containing L. reuteri CRL 1098 or a placebo for four weeks, separated by a wash-out period. Total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoprotein levels were assessed at the beginning and at the end of each period. We found a statistically significant reduction of total (−7.86 g/dl) and LDL (−7.02 g/dl) cholesterol in absolute changes (before-after) as well as a decreasing trend in the group receiving the yogurt containing L. reuteri with respect to the placebo group, without detecting changes in HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels. Our results suggest that low amounts of yogurt (125 g/day) and low doses of the CRL 1098 strain (10 6 CFU) are sufficient to reduce total and LDL-cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic subjects.

Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Functional foods containing bioactive peptides have been proposed as a strategy to decrease blood pressure (BP) in subjects under no pharmacological treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of low-sodium, low-fat (LSLF) cheese and LSLF cheese containing Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis CRL 581 (LSLF581) on BP in pre-hypertensive and stage 1 hypertensive subjects. Sixty-one pre-hypertensive and stage 1 hypertensive subjects assigned to one of twos (LSLF, n= 29 and LSLF581, n= 32) participated in this 12-month prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover trial. Twenty-four h ambulatory BP monitoring was performed at the beginning and at the end of each four-week study period. Systolic and diastolic BP decreased in both study groups, but differences between groups were not significant (systolic,-1.78 and-0.2 mmHg; diastolic,-1.54 and-0.42 mmHg in LSLF581 and LSLF, respectively). Although our results could not support a BP lowering effect of LSLF581, small BP reductions could favorably prevent cardiovascular disease development.