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The effects of oral administration of hot water extract from autologous lysate of Lactobacillus casei (LEx) on the systolic blood pressure (SBP) were studied in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Oral doses of 10 mg/kg of LEx produced a significant decrease of the SBP of SHR, but LEx had no effect in normotensive rats. The long-term administration of LEx (1 or 10 mg/kg/day) to SHR from 5 to 17 weeks after birth suppressed the development of hypertension. LEx dialysed against distilled water was separated into a polysaccharide fraction (SG-1), a protein fraction (PR-1), and a nucleic acid fraction (NA-1), and SBP-lowering effects of these materials were investigated in SHR at the same dose (10mg/kg). The most effective material of these three was SG-1.

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are mainly composed of two or three xylose units with beta-1,4 linkages. They are obtained by hemicellulose hydrolysis, which is relatively abundant in the cell walls of grains. XOS increases the number of intestinal Bifidobacterium in humans, and maintains the fecal water content within the normal range. To examine the effect of XOS intake on severe constipation in pregnancy, which is predominant in the third trimester, thirty constipated pregnant women were treated with 4.2 g XOS daily for 4 wk. During the study, the clinical efficacy was assessed using a daily diary. The subjects indicated the number of stools and the clinical symptom scores. Twenty-nine subjects completed the study. The mean number of stools was 1.1 +/- 0.4 in the pre-treatment week, and increased in weeks 1-4 of XOS administration to 5.3 +/- 2.1, 5.9 +/- 2.5, 6.2 +/- 2.2 and 6.7 +/- 1.9, respectively. At the end of the study, 27 subjects could defecate spontaneously. The occurrence of very loose or very hard stools decreased and the stool consistency normalized. The stool color changed from dark to yellowish brown. No side effects were observed. XOS intake was highly effective for the reduction of severe constipation in pregnant women without adverse effects.