Consumption of Dairy Yogurt Enhanced Immune Function

Consumption of Dairy Yogurt With Rhamnogalacturonan in Korean Citrus Hallabong Peel Polysaccharide Enhanced Immune Function and Attenuated Inflammatory Response

To investigate the impact of consumption of dairy yogurt with rhamnogalacturonan (RG) in Korean citrus Hallabong peel polysaccharide on Natural Killer (NK) cell activity and circulating cytokine levels.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 120 nondiabetic and nonobese subjects. Over an 8 week period, the test group consumed one pack (150ml) of dairy yogurt with 50mg probiotics and 100mg Korean citrus Hallabong peel polysaccharide (60% RG, 20% mono- and di-saccharide, 5% polyphenol) each day, whereas the placebo group consumed the same product without Korean citrus Hallabong peel polysaccharide. NK cell activities (%) were measured based on the ratios of effector cells (E) (peripheral blood mononuclear cell, PBMC) from each participant to Target cell (T) (K562 cells) as 10:1, 5:1, 2.5:1 or 1.25:1.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The levels of white blood cells under 8x10^3/μL
• males and females
• 30-69 years old
• nondiabetic and nonobese subjects
• able to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• consumption of any probiotic products within 1 month before screening
• unstable body weight (body-weight change > 2 kg within 3 months before screening)
• diabetes
• history/presence of significant metabolic disease
• pregnancy or breast-feeding
• acute or chronic infection
• liver disease, kidney disease, gastrointestinal disease, or any other acute or chronic disease requiring treatment
• subjects taking any drugs or supplements