Natto is a traditional breakfast in northern Japan. It can be seasoned with mustard, chopped leek and shoyu ('soy sauce'), and served with white rice. The product divides opinions, even among those who have grown up consuming it, because it has an ammonia-like smell and a mucus-like consistency.
Considered a 'superfood', it is made from softened, boiled or steamed soybeans and fermented with a bacterium called 'Bacillus subtilis var. natto', which is found in soil, plants, animals and the human stomach and intestines. And most of the natto consumed in Japan comes from the 'Miyagino' strain.
New research conducted by Osaka Metropolitan University (Japan), published in the scientific journal 'Journal of Applied Microbiology', has examined the effects of consumption of 'Bacillus subtilis var. natto' in host life expectancy using Caenorhabditis elegans worms.
Thus, he has observed that Japanese natto prolongs the life of a type of worms and improves stress tolerance.
The researchers found that Caenorhabditis elegans fed Bacillus subtilis var. natto' had a significantly longer life expectancy than those fed the standard diet, and further elucidated that two pathways involved in innate immunity and life expectancy are involved in the lifespan-increasing effects of Bacillus subtilis var. natto'.
They also examined stress tolerance, which has been shown to correlate with longevity, and found that it increases resistance to ultraviolet light and oxidative stress.
"For the first time, we have been able to demonstrate the possibility of life-prolonging effects of Caenorhabditis elegans by ingesting Bacillus subtilis var. natto'. We hope that future mammalian experiments and epidemiological studies will help achieve a healthy and longer-lived society if we can apply this research to humans," said Eriko Kage-Nakadai, leader of the study.
- Feeding
- Japan
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