Provided are a composition and a food or drink, having the effect of enhancing an immune response to an antigen, which is administered by another route such as subcutaneous injection, by orally administering to a subject, lactic acid bacteria, a culture thereof, a treated product thereof, or a composition comprising the same.

An oral ingestion composition, which comprises a lactic acid bacterium strain that is Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis enhancing the proliferation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and the generation of antibodies, or a culture or treated product thereof, and is used in combination with an antigen as a vaccine, wherein the oral ingestion composition is for use in enhancing the proliferation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) specific to the antigen and the generation of antibodies specific to the antigen.

New Lactococcus lactis strains, NRRL B-50571 and NRRL B-50572, and a bacterial preparation containing the same, have the ability to produce bioactive peptides that reduce blood pressure, lower LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and present antioxidant properties for better cardiovascular health. These biologically active peptides may be produced within the food for the production of a food product, such as a functional food, or they may be produced from protein sources and subsequently added to a food as part of the formulation or as part of a food supplement or a pharmaceutical preparation.

New Lactococcus lactis strains, NRRL B-50571 and NRRL B-50572, and a bacterial preparation containing the same, have the ability to produce bioactive peptides that reduce blood pressure, lower LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and present antioxidant properties for better cardiovascular health. These biologically active peptides may be produced within the food for the production of a food product, such as a functional food, or they may be produced from protein sources and subsequently added to a food as part of the formulation or as part of a food supplement or a pharmaceutical preparation.

A processed cheese composition and methods of making the processed cheese composition are provided. The processed cheese composition includes natural cheese, dairy materials and a cultured dairy component. The raw cheese is provided in a range of about 10 to about 90 weight %. The dairy materials are provided in a range of about 5 to about 50 weight % and include at least one of the group consisting of milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, whey, milkfat and cream. The cultured dairy component is provided in a range of about 1 to about 20 weight % and includes an antibacterial material and/or antibacterial producing bacterial culture in combination with an exopolysaccharide and/or an exopolysaccharide producing culture.

The present invention relates to an aroma milk composition and a method of producing it. Further, the present invention relates to use of the aroma milk composition in the manufacture of a dairy product. Finally, the present invention relates to a new bacterial strain of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis.

A method for producing a lactic acid bacteria fermented milk product comprising fermenting milk with both inoculated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and inoculated Bacillus bacteria.

The present invention relates to recombinant Lactococcus lactis bacteria expressing and secreting TSLP or IL-25 or a combination thereof, and their use as probiotics or therapeutic agents, especially for use in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and disorders.

The present invention relates to a mutant strain of Lactococcus lactis and its application, and belongs to the field of food biotechnology. The mutant strain, Lactococcus lactis WH101, was screened for its better tolerance to harsh environmental factors, especially higher acid tolerance. The OD.sub.600 of Lactococcus lactis WH101 was increased by 5.5 times than that of the parent strain when cultured at pH 4.5. The survival rate of the mutant strain was 22.4 times higher than that of the parent strain after 3 hr treatment in pH 4.0 culture medium. The survival rate of the mutant strain was 5.2, 2.0 and 1.9 times over that of the parent strain treated with 15% ethanol for 4 hr, 15% NaCl for 6 hr and 1 mM H.sub.2O.sub.2 for 3 hr, respectively.

The present invention relates to a novel strain having the activity of reducing advanced glycation end products and a use thereof and, more particularly, to a food composition having the activity of reducing advanced glycation end products and a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating a disease caused by advanced glycation end products each of which comprises a Lactococcus lactis KF140 (accession number KCCM11673P) strain, a Bacillus subtilis KF11 (accession number KCCM11981P) strain, a Lactobacillus pentosus KF8 (accession number KCCM11997P) strain, or a Lactobacillus paracasei KF00816 (accession number KCCM11998P) strain, which are all novel strains; a lysate thereof; or a culture thereof as an active ingredient. In addition, the present invention relates to a composition for intestinal regulation, a probiotic composition, a feed composition, and a fermented product, each of which comprises the novel strain of the present invention, a lysate thereof, or a culture thereof as an active ingredient.

The present invention relates to bacterial strains of Lactococcus lactis or Lactococcus cremoris, usable as starter cultures, able to provide both satisfactory rheological and organoleptic proper-ties, and satisfactory shelf life to a plant-based media into which they are incorporated. The in-vention also provides a composition comprising one of these strains of Lactococcus lactis or Lactococcus cremoris, and feed or food products, in particular a plant-based feed or food product obtained with these strains.