Synbiotic Cheese from Goat Milk Suppresses Indomethacin-induced Intercellular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) Expression in a Rat Model of GastricInjury

Synbiotic cheese made of goat milk, bacterial starter Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and porang glucomannan has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. This study aimed to determine the effect of synbiotic cheese on gene expression and protein levels of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 in a rat model of gastric injury. Male Wistar rats were divided into six groups. For 28 days, three groups received an increasing dosage of synbiotic cheese and one group received one dosage of probiotic cheese. For comparison, there was a placebo group receiving nothing and another group receiving indomethacin alone. On day 29, all rats received 20 mg/kg indomethacin intragastrically to induce gastric injury. Twenty-four hours later, rats were euthanized, and gastric tissue was taken for the quantification of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 gene and protein expressions. The results showed that pretreatment of synbiotic cheese caused significant suppression of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression. Synbiotic cheese at a dose of 0.36 g/day significantly suppressed intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 protein expression (P < 0.05), whereas synbiotic cheese at a dose of 0.72 g/day significantly suppressed both gene expression and protein levels of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (P < 0.05) compared to the indomethacin alone group. We conclude that synbiotic cheese may protect from gastric injury through modulation of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1.