Armenian fermented milk product Choratan and its influence on gut microbiota in health and pathology

Background: Choratan is an ancient Armenian fermented milk product which was recreated as a food supplement by A. Selimyan with the use of innovative technologies. Choratan contains large amounts of active Lactobacillus acidophilus, amino acids, and other bioactive compounds. Material and method: The influence of Choratan on gut microflora was studied in the frame of grant projects through the financing of State Committee of Science of Armenia. One hundred forty-one randomly chosen patients were included in the study with their informed consent. The patients divided into groups by diseases: gastrointestinal, allergic, and diabetes mellitus II type. Healthy patients were included in the fourth group. Bacteriological examinations of faeces were performed on 120 patients before and after Choratan was prescribed with an average dosage of 4-6g a day for 8 weeks. Results: In all the groups, we observed improvements like the increase of normal microflora totally in 63.2%-68.3% and the decrease of conditionally pathogenic and pathogenic bacteria totally in 70.3%-100%. The mean amounts of all microorganisms were improved with statistically significant differences. 77.3% of patients noticed improvements in their conditions, which were more visible in healthy and allergic groups (87.1% and 82.4% respectively) and less impressive in patients with gastrointestinal diseases and diabetes (71.9% and 68.2% respectively).Conclusion: From the results, we can conclude Choratan has positive influence on gut microflora and common health statuses. However, these changes depend on the nature of the disease and initial degree of dysbiotic deviations. Accordingly, we encourage more detailed placebo-controlled investigations.Keywords: diseases; fermented foods; probiotics; bioactive food supplement, gut microflora; chronic diseases