from Chandra Iyer and James Versalovic

Beneficial bacteria include Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. and other lactic acid bacteria (LAB) commonly known as probiotics. LAB possesses numerous potential therapeutic properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities and other features of interest. In recent years, studies with in vitro cell culture and animal models that clearly demonstrated protective effects of LAB for anti-tumor and anti-cancer effects. Dietary administration of LAB alleviated the risks of certain types of cancers and suppressed colonic tumor incidence, volume and multiplicity induced by various carcinogens in different animal models. Oral administration of LAB effectively reduced DNA adduct formation, ameliorated DNA damage and prevented putative preneoplastic lesions such as aberrant crypt foci induced by chemical carcinogens in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of various animal models. LAB also increased the latency period and survival rates in test animals when challenged with carcinogenic agents. Reports also indicated that LAB cultures administered to animals inhibited liver, colon, bladder and mammary tumors, highlighting potential systemic effects of probiotics with anti-neoplastic activities.

Further reading: Lactobacillus Molecular Biology: From Genomics to Probiotics

Labels: Bifidobacterium, cancer, lactic acid bacteria, lactobacillus, probiotics