Fortified yogurt may fight stomach ulcer bug

Salt Lake City, March 25: A new type of yogurt, one fortified with bacteria-fighting protein called igY-urease, could help fight the Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium responsible for ulcers and gastritis, researchers claim.

The results of the first human trail with the yogurt were presented at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday.

Helicobacter pylori, a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium, is responsible for a majority of the stomach ulcers. Often asymptomatic, the infection causes a chronic low-grade inflammation of the stomach lining, strongly linked to the development of gastricdefine ulcers and stomach cancerdefine. Antibiotics and acid suppressants are currently the most preferred line of treatment to expel H. pylori out of the stomach.

In an endeavor to find cheaper and better ways to fight the bacteria, researchers at the Kyoto Women's University, Japan, enrolled 42 people diagnosed with active H. pylori infection.

For 4 weeks, the participants were either assigned to consume two cups a day of regular yogurt or “functional” yogurt, which was fortified with the antibody IgY-urease.

Upon 1-month follow-up, participants taking the “functional” fortified yogurt had lower levels of urea in their breath, a urease by-product, as against people eating plain yogurt.

“Decreased urea levels suggest a hampered bacterial activity,” lead researcher Dr. Hajime Hatta of the department of food and nutrition at Kyoto Women's University explained.

"With this new yogurt, people can now enjoy the taste of yogurt while preventing or eliminating the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers," Hatta added.

Although the treatment is free from side effects, patients allergic to eggs, milk, or other dairy products are advised against the treatment.

The fortified yogurt is already available in Japan and Korea. In Japan, the anti-H. pylori yogurt is sold under the brand "Dr. Prio", and in Korea as "Gut".

“The findings may be an encouraging new treatment option for millions of people suffering from painful stomach ulcers and other conditions, which may progress to deadly stomach and intestinal cancers,” researchers believe.

According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, more than 25 million Americans complain of ulcers and gastritis at some point in their life.