Iranian Journal of

Background: Milk and fermented milk products have been known as foods with possible hypocholesterolemic effects. In this study we compared the effects of milk replacement with regular and probiotic yogurt in normocholesterolemic (N) and hypercholesterolemic (H) subjects.

Methods: Twenty eight subjects with total serum cholesterol 160-280 mg/dl were included. They did not consume yogurt for 2 weeks after that 300 g/day of milk was added to their diet. Then, blood lipids were measured and they were randomly allocated to 2 groups to receive either 300g/day of ordinary yogurt or probiotic yogurt for 6 weeks as a substitution for milk. Blood lipid tests were repeated at the end of the study. Subjects in both groups were divided into these two subgroups according to their baseline blood cholesterol level: subgroup N (cholesterol<220mg/dl) and H (cholesterol≥220mg/dl). Blood lipid changes were compared between these subgroups in each experimental group.

Results: Total cholesterol and LDL-C levels reduced in the H as compared to N subgroup after regular yogurt consumption instead of milk and the reduction of LDL-C was significant (P=0.033). The effect of milk replacement with probiotic yogurt on total cholesterol and LDL-C reduction in H compared to N subgroup was higher than regular yogurt consumption (P=0.028 and P=0.014 for total cholesterol and LDL-C respectively).

Conclusion: The higher the baseline blood cholesterol level, the more beneficial effects of milk replacement with yogurt, especially probiotic yogurt. So, it is suggested for hypercholesterolemic individuals to consume more yogurt as the source of dairy products in their diet.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a major metabolic disorder. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of probiotic soymilk fermented with Bifidobacterium lactis and containing omega-3 on hematologic, oxidative stress, anti-oxidant and inflammatory parameters in type 2 diabetic rats.

Methods: In this experimental manipulation study 65 rats were divided into five groups. Type 2 diabetes was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin and nicotinamide. Normal control (NC) and diabetic control (DC) rats received 1 mL/day of distilled water, and three groups of diabetic rats were administered 1 mL/day of soymilk (SM), fermented soymilk (FSM) and fermented soymilk fortified with omega-3 (FSM+omega-3) products by oral gavage for 28 days. Hematologic, oxidative stress, anti-oxidant and inflammatory parameters were measured at the end of experiment.

Results: At the end of experiment, in all treated diabetic rats compared with the DC group, red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit and superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentrations increased significantly (p<0.05), and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations reduced significantly (p<0.05). The reduction of MDA and increasing in Hb, RBC, hematocrit and SOD concentrations in the FSM+omega-3 group was more than two other groups. In the FSM+omega-3 group, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentrations compared with the DC and FSM groups were significantly lower (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The experiments suggest that combining soymilk, probiotics and omega-3 may be beneficial for the reducing oxidative-stress in type 2 diabetes.