Mountain Food, as a Natural Probiotic. Evidence From Central and Eastern European Nutrition and Behavior

The study is focused on performing qualitative research for natural yogurt (animal resource), Allium sativum - garlic (plant resource), experimental analysis for natural honey (apicultural resource), namely honey-dew (manna) which is a mountain product from Maramureș, a region of Romania, and polyflora honey (Tilia - linden with mountain flowers) which is a hilly product from Moldova, a region of Romania, and clinical study on all the mountain products reminded before.

After this study, it will be a comparative study of consumer behavior of mountain products from Central and Eastern European countries and Central and Southern states from the USA.

This study is referring strictly to Central and Eastern European countries, especially Romania (but a country like Romania is representative of the other studied countries). The members of the family which will participate in the study will consume the probiotics reminded before. The family members, participants in the study, are consuming daily natural honey (one member of the family), yogurt (one member of the family), and garlic (two of them). After every 40 days, it will be verified, through laboratory analysis, the level of organism immunity. The analysis will be realized in Synevo Romania. It will be verified Biochemistry: Serum Calcium, Serum Magnesium, Serum Iron (Sideremia); Immunochemistry: Vitamin B12, Serum Folate, Vitamin 25-OH; Hematology: Leukocyte blood count with Hb, Ht, and indices (Leukocyte count, Erythrocyte count, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Mean erythrocyte volume, Mean erythrocyte hemoglobin, Mean Hb / erythrocyte concentration, Erythrocyte distribution width, Platelet count, L platelet count platelet distribution, Neutrophil, Lymphocyte, Monocyte, Eosinophil, Basophil); Zinc in the blood.

It will be verified if properly used mountain animal and vegetal resources can become powerful fighters as natural probiotics against various diseases, or to prevent different immunity problems.

Fermented natural dairy products are an extremely important component in the diet of the CEE population, especially for the rural population. Dairy products are often used as natural probiotics, especially within CEE countries. And, the most used mountain product is yogurt (or derivate products similar wit it, such as kefir, ayran, and so on). Within CEE countries, the most important species isolated from lactic bacteria fermented or raw products of dairy origin, are Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc sp., and Enterococcus sp. Probiotic dairy products have been analyzed and shown that in addition to nutritional benefits, they positively influence the physiology of the human body. The best-known dairy products are ice cream, cheese, yogurt, milk enriched with strains of Acidophilus and Bifidus, ayran, kefir, and kumis. Dairy drinks (fermented or unfermented) are considered foods that provide probiotics. In the fermentation process, lactic, acetic, and citric acid are naturally obtained, acids that are frequently used in the food industry to improve the organoleptic qualities of several products intended for consumption. The father of the paradigm according to which yogurt is one of the most powerful probiotics, especially for the digestive system, was Elie Metchnikoff, Nobel Laureate for Medicine. He postulated in the famous public presentation "Old Age", held at the Society of French Agriculturalists in Paris on June 8, 1904, that the dependence between lactic acid bacteria and food makes it possible to apply methods to modify the intestinal flora by replacing bad bacteria with beneficial ones. He suggested that yogurt bacteria prevent and annihilate intestinal bacterial infections and hypothesize that regular yogurt consumption prolongs life. Lactic acid bacteria produce microbial metabolism, and the effect is a decrease in intestinal pH, which stops the proliferation of various proteolytic bacterial species. In this way, Metchnikoff kicks off the popularization of yogurt in Europe as a functional food with health benefits.