Claims
- 1. An isolated, naturally occurring microorganism which is incapable of producing a toxin and which produces at least one compound which can be ingested by a human to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 2. The microorganism of claim 1 wherein the compound which is capable of lowering serum cholesterol concentrations is lovastatin.
- 3. The microorganism according to claim 1 wherein the microorganism is incapable of producing an aflatoxin.
- 4. The microorganism according to claim 1 which is a filamentous mold.
- 5. The microorganism according to claim 4 wherein the filamentous mold is selected from the group consisting of the genus Aspergillus, Monascus and Penicillium.
- 6. A food fermentation additive comprising the isolated naturally occurring microorganism of claim 1 which, when used to ferment a food product, produces the at least one compound but does not produce a toxin, so that the fermented food product can be safely ingested by a human to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 7. A method for preparing an edible composition for lowering serum cholesterol concentrations, which comprises:
selecting a naturally occurring microorganism which is incapable of producing a toxin and which produces at least one compound which can be ingested by a human to lower serum cholesterol concentrations; and fermenting the microorganism to prepare an edible composition that contains the at least one compound but does not contain a toxin, so that the edible product can be safely ingested by a human to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the edible composition is in the form of a medicament for modulation, prevention or treatment of serum cholesterol levels.
- 9. A medicament prepared by the method of claim 8.
- 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the edible composition is in the form of a fermented food product prepared by:
inoculating crop material with an inoculate containing at least one selected microorganism to effect fermentation; and hydrolysing the resultant preparation to obtain a hydrolysate that contains the at least one compound.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the crop material is wheat grains, soya, rice, or maize; oil, seeds, or fractions of such crop materials; or a mixture of such crop materials or crop material fractions.
- 12. A fermented food product prepared by the method of claim 10.
- 13. A method for lowering serum cholesterol concentrations in a human, which comprises:
preparing an edible composition by the method of claim 7; and administering the edible composition to the human in an amount sufficient to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the edible composition contains the at least one compound in an amount which is sufficient to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis in the human.
- 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the edible composition contains the at least one compound in an amount which is sufficient to inhibit the production of HMGCoA reductase enzyme.
- 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the edible composition contains the at least one compound in an amount which is sufficient to inhibit at least one step downstream of mevalonate.
- 17. A method for lowering serum cholesterol concentrations in a human, which comprises administering the medicament of claim 9 in an amount sufficient to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 18. A method for lowering serum cholesterol concentrations in a human, which comprises administering the fermented food product of claim 12 in an amount sufficient to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 19. A method for lowering serum cholesterol concentrations in a human, which comprises:
preparing a fermented food product with the food fermentation additive of claim 6; and administering the fermented food product to the human in an amount sufficient to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the fermented food product comprises a protein hydrolysate.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
00116451.6 |
Jul 2000 |
EP |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of the US national phase designation of International application PCT/EP01/07908 filed Jul. 10, 2001, the content of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference thereto.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/EP01/07908 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Child |
10350227 |
Jan 2003 |
US |