Resumo

The physiological benefits attributed to Bifidobacteria are their ability to physically interfere with the adhesion of pathogenic species to surfaces of intestinal cells and their ability to enhance the host immune function what is believed to be a result of their metabolic activity. Functional foods are the mainly delivery form of probiotics, but the differences between fermented or unfermented product in bifido benefits are forbidden. The probiotic activity is changed through many factors not just for the strain specificity but also by the technological process used, like fermentation and moreover by the matrix that is delivery. The main action proposed to probiotic function is the pathogens control through interaction with indigenous microbiota, immune system modulation and bioactive compounds production. Despite of that, cellular and molecular mechanisms and which bioactive compounds exert beneficial or dangerous action are not clear understood yet. Differences in mucosal morphology and immunity promoted by different food technological treatment using the same matrix and the same probiotic strain. Comparing with the control, fermented milk promotes an increase of 15% in cellularity and unfermented milk promotes a degradation of colonic epihelium comparing between control. The immune patter caractherized by cellular immunity changes front of the technology employed, shows a significant increase in number of Peyer's Patchs tofermented milk comparing with the control and the unfermented milk. These results,considering the health BALB/c mice, suggesting that changes in functionality of bifidobacteria and/ or the metabolites produced by fermentation process, is the key to improve beneficial effect in the host gut mucosa throughout increase in mucus and cellularity production, changes in immune pattern and preservation of mucosal epithelia in health Balb/c mice Fomento: FAPESP, CNPq