World Institute of Kimchi: Lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi was found to mitigate atopic dermatitis symptoms and adjust the microbiome

• The World Institute of Kimchi discovered kimchi-derived lactic acid bacteria with the effectiveness for ameliorating atopic dermatitis
• The bacteria's effectiveness for ameliorating atopic dermatitis was proven through coliform microbiome analysis

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- World Institute of Kimchi, which discovers and promotes kimchi's scientific excellence announces that the team led by Doctor Choi Hak-jong at the World Institute of Kimchi discovered Lactobacillus sakei WIKIM30, the kimchi-derived lactic acid bacteria effective for preventing and improving the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. This is the second time that the institute has discovered kimchi-derived lactic acid bacteria effective for improving atopic dermatitis, following the discovery of Weissella cibaria WiKim28 announced in April last year.

The results of this study (Lactobacillus sakei WIKIM30 Ameliorates Atopic Dermatitis-like Skin Lesions by Inducing Regulatory T Cells and Altering Gut Microbiota Structure in Mice) were released through the August 2018 issue of Frontiers in Immunology.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic immunological skin disease that is characterized by itchy eczematous lesions. It mainly occurs in children with weaker immune systems. It is considered one of the incurable diseases of the modern era as its cause has yet to be identified.

Doctor Choi's team revealed the correlation between atopic dermatitis and symbiotic coliform microbes and the fact that kimchi-derived lactic acid bacteria ameliorates atopic dermatitis through coliform microbiome analysis.

Microbiome is a combination of "microbe" and "biome" and refers to the entire collection of genes of all microorganisms in a human body. It has emerged as a new breakthrough in treatment with the discovery of correlations between microbiomes and various diseases (obesity, cancer, etc.). In the US, a series of studies has been pushed ahead with since the announcement of the National Microbiome Initiative (NMI) in May 2016.

Doctor Choi's team fed Lactobacillus sakei WIKIM30 to the dermatitis-induced mice for 45 days. As a result, atopic dermatitis symptoms in the mice were mitigated by 35%. Levels of IgE in the blood, which is an indication of the development of atopic dermatitis, decreased by approximately 45%.

Most importantly, based on coliform microbiome analysis, the intake of Lactobacillus sakei WIKIM30 was found to lead to an increase in beneficial coliform bacteria and a decrease in harmful coliform bacteria, thereby improving the overall community of coliform microbes.

The beneficial Ruminococcus bacteria is known to be effective at reducing the risk of allergic diseases. This study highlighted the fact that Ruminococcus reinforces the human immune system and ameliorates atopic dermatitis.

Chairman Ha Jae-ho of the institute said, "This study is significant in that it scientifically proved how kimchi-derived lactic acid bacteria directly improves immunity and ameliorates immunological diseases such as atopic dermatitis by adjusting the coliform microbiome."

About World Institute of Kimchi

A government-funded research institute established to perform research and development related to kimchi, to lead national technological innovation, nature and develop the kimchi industry that will boost the national growth. It performs overall research and development related to kimchi, in order to lead national technological innovation and nurture and develop the kimchi industry that will boost the national growth.

SOURCE World Institute of Kimchi