Basic Knowledge of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)

(3)LPS All Around Us

Bacteria-derived LPS, the “Immuno Vitamin”, is found abundantly in edible plants, such as grains, vegetables, and seaweed. Bacteria reside in the soil, where they help plants grow by converting nitrogen and phosphorus into forms accessible to the plants. Therefore, a high bacterial count correlates with good soil. Numerous soil bacteria attach not only to root of vegetables but also to leaf of vegetables, grain surface and seaweed in the sea. Even though bacteria on edible plants are sterilized before eating, LPS, a constituent of bacteria, remains, so LPS is taken naturally with edible plants. This natural intake of LPS has beneficial effects on our body.

Brown rice, conventionally believed to be good for health in Japan, is rich in LPS. Because bacteria exist on the grain surface, LPS is mostly present on the outermost portions, which is why brown rice is richer in LPS than polished rice. Large amounts of LPS are also found in Chinese herbal medicines; one paper reported LPS as the active ingredient of Juzen-taiho-to (*1).

During plant cultivation, the use of chemical fertilizer biases the type of bacteria, and pesticides cause bacterial death. Under these circumstances, the quantity of LPS on vegetables has been decreasing in recent years. The low amount of LPS in vegetables, as well as less vitamins and minerals, than in the past means that natural power of vegetable is weakening.

(*1) Uncovering potential ‘herbal probiotics’ in Juzen-taiho-to through the study of associated bacterial populations, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 25 (2015) 466–469