Pilot study Beneficial effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on glycemia and homocysteine levels in postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome Fab  ıola M  alaga Barreto M.S.c. a , Andr  ea Name Colado Sim ~ ao Ph.D. b , Helena Kaminami Morimoto Ph.D. b , Marcell Alysson Batisti Lozovoy Ph.D. b , Isaias Dichi M.D., Ph.D. c, * ,L  ucia Helena da Silva Miglioranza Ph.D. a a Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Londrina, Londrina, Paran a, Brazil b Department of Pathology, Clinical Analysis and Toxicology, University of Londrina, Londrina, Paran a, Brazil c Department of Internal Medicine, University of Londrina, Londrina, Paran a, Brazil article info Article history: Received 15 August 2013 Accepted 5 December 2013 Keywords: Metabolic syndrome Probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum Homocysteine Cytokines abstract Objective: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in postmenopausal women is an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity, especially stroke and coronary heart disease and mortality. Preventing and treating MetS would be useful in preventing disability and promoting normal aging. Previous human studies have found some beneficial effects of Lactobacillus species on some isolated pa- rameters of MetS. Nevertheless, we are not aware, to date, of any study which has verified the influence of probiotics in patients with MetS. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of fermented milk with L. plantarum in the classical parameters related to MetS, as well as in other parameters related to cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. Methods: Twenty-four individuals were paired by age, ethnicity, and body mass index in two groups: Non-fermented milk (NFM ¼ 12) 80 mL/d and fermented milk (FM ¼ 12) 80 mL/d. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, biochemical, inflammatory, and immunologic biomarkers were measured. Results: Total cholesterol and g-glutamyltranspeptidase had a significant reduction both in NFM (P ¼ 0.043 and P ¼ 0.036, respectively) and FM groups (P ¼ 0.010 and P ¼ 0.018, respectively) after 90 d, whereas low-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed a significant reduction in NFM group (P ¼ 0.002) and trend in the FM group (P ¼ 0.092). Glucose and homocysteine levels showed a significant reduction in the FM group compared with the NFM group (P ¼ 0.037 and P ¼ 0.019, respectively). In relation to inflammatory biomarkers, there was a significant decrease in interleukin-6 both in NFM (P ¼ 0.032) and in FM (P ¼ 0.001) groups. Conclusion: FM with L. plantarum showed more favorable results than NFM in relation to cardio- vascular risk factors in postmenopausal women with MetS. Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a pathologic condition that in- cludes insulin resistance, arterial hypertension, obesity, and dys- lipidemia, which accelerate atherosclerosis, and promote a higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]. MetS also has been considered a chronic low-grade inflammatory syndrome [2]. The prevalence of MetS rises with increasing age, which is mainly attributed to the significant increase in overweight and obesity [3]. Previous human studies have found some beneficial effects of Lactobacillus species in reducing adiposity in overweight FMB was responsible for recruiting the patients, the original concept of the study, interpretation of the results, and writing the manuscript. MABL and HM were responsible for the laboratorial analysis. ANCS and ID were responsible for interpretation of the results and the writing of the manuscript. LHSM were responsible for the original concept of the study, the study design, interpretation of the results and the writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 43 3371 2332; fax: þ55 43 3371 2328. E-mail address: Dichi@sercomtel.com.br (I. Dichi). 0899-9007/$ - see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2013.12.004 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nutrition journal homepage: www.nutritionjrnl.com Please cite this article in press as: Barreto Fab  ıola M alaga, et al., Beneficial effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on glycemia and..., Nutrition (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2013.12.004 Nutrition xxx (2014) 1–4