{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T15:03:33Z","timestamp":1785423813191,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Education","award":["2026-RISE-13-JJU"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026-RISE-13-JJU"]}]},{"award":["2026-RISE-13-JJU"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026-RISE-13-JJU"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00b3tsf98","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Metabolites"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Hydrochloric acid (HCl)\/ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury is closely associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. Probiotics are promising therapeutic agents for gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, this study evaluated the preventive effects of Cheonggukjang-derived Bacillus strains on HCl\/ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in a rat model (n = 5 per group), with emphasis on inflammatory mechanisms. Methods: Eight-week-old male Sprague\u2013Dawley rats were orally administered Bacillus amyloliquefaciens C393 1.0 \u00d7 109 CFU (B393), Bacillus subtilis C439 1.0 \u00d7 109 CFU (B439), or B. subtilis C512 1.0 \u00d7 109 CFU (C512). Gastric injury was induced by oral administration of HCl\/ethanol (150 mM HCl in 60% ethanol). Results: HCl\/ethanol exposure significantly increased symptom scores, gastric mucosal lesion area, and histopathological damage. Pretreatment with B393 and B439 significantly attenuated these alterations. Moreover, HCl\/ethanol administration increased gastric secretion volume and decreased gastric pH, both of which were significantly normalized by B393 and B439. Serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-\u03b1 and interleukin-6, were significantly elevated following HCl\/ethanol exposure but were markedly reduced by B393 and B439. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that nuclear factor-kappa B activation in gastric tissues was significantly suppressed in these groups. Conclusions: These findings indicate that Cheonggukjang-derived Bacillus strains exert strain-specific gastroprotective effects possibly by suppressing NF-\u03baB-mediated inflammatory signaling.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/metabo16070481","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T17:27:31Z","timestamp":1783531651000},"page":"481","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cheonggukjang-Derived Bacillus Strains Exhibit Protective Effects Against HCl\/Ethanol-Induced Gastric Injury Associated with Reduced Inflammatory Responses"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8375-2413","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yun-Seong","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nain Healthcare Co., Ltd., 3, Seodong-ro 20-gil, Iksan 54613, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sooah","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food and Nutrition, Jeonju University, Jeonju 55069, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2008.05.030","article-title":"Gastric mucosal defense and cytoprotection: Bench to bedside","volume":"135","author":"Laine","year":"2008","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1547","DOI":"10.1152\/physrev.00004.2008","article-title":"Prostaglandins, NSAIDs, and gastric mucosal protection: Why doesn\u2019t the stomach digest itself?","volume":"88","author":"Wallace","year":"2008","journal-title":"Physiol. 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