Fermented milk of Lactobacillus helveticus IDCC3801 reduces beta-amyloid and attenuates memory deficit

In order to find new application fields for probiotics and their fermented products, we explored fermented milks cultured with various probiotic strains improving amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease. In cell-based assay using wild type of APP and β-secretase over-expressing cell, the ethanol precipitates of the fermented milk cultured with Lactobacillus helveticus IDCC 3801, induced a strong decrease of APPβ level in amyloidogenic pathway toward β-amyloid production of APP processing. When administered orally to rat, the ethanol precipitate significantly reduced Aβ level in serum. In scopolamine-treated mouse model, the ethanol precipitate also attenuated memory deficit. Taken together, we suggest that the ethanol precipitate from fermented milk with L. helveticus IDCC3801 may improve APP metabolism and memory deficit.