## 4 Discussion  
The inflammatory response is a biological protective response to external stimuli and is related to immune cells, blood vessels, and inflammatory mediators. The inflammatory response is a double-edged sword, as it serves to block invasion from the outside but can also cause inflammatory diseases. Acute inflammation generally plays a healing role in response to tissue injury, inhibiting cell damage and removing damaged tissue and necrotic cells from a wound [19]. Chronic inflammation can cause various diseases such as allergies, cancer, and arthritis and, in severe cases, can lead to sepsis [20]. It is known that inflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and obesity [21; 22; 23]. Various anti-inflammatory drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used for treatment of inflammatory diseases but are associated with infections and various side effects including gastrointestinal and cardiovascular abnormalities [24; 25]. We previously reported that LTA, a cell wall component of _L. plantarum_ K8, has strong anti-inflammatory effects [12; 26]. Interestingly, _L. plantarum_ K8 LTA does not induce an inflammatory response by itself. Compared with LPS or LTAs isolated from various lactobacillus strains, the anti-inflammatory effect of _L. plantarum_ K8 LTA was superior [12]. _L. plantarum_ K8 LTA was particularly effective in suppressing the excessive expression of TNF-\(\alpha\) and IL-1\(\beta\) induced by LPS. Although TNF-\(\alpha\) plays an important role in host defense  
Figure 8: MSF reduced LPS-induced liver damage in mice. Liver homogenates of BALB/c mice (7 weeks old, 8 mice/group) were collected 8 h after i.p. injection of 20 mg/kg LPS following pre-injection of PBS, 400 \(\upmu\)g/mouse MSF, 400 \(\upmu\)g/mouse K8 lysates, or 5 \(\upmu\)g/mouse of F. glaberrima for 24 h. The mRNA levels of TNF-\(\alpha\) (**A**) and IL-1\(\beta\) (**B**) were measured by real-time PCR. (**C**) The protein level of A20 was quantified by western blot. (**D**) Liver immunohistochemistry of F4/80 and (**E**) relative intensity of F4/80. (**F**) Liver hematoxylin and eosin staining. Statistical analyses were conducted with an unpaired two-tailed \(t\)-test. *_p_\(<\) 0.05; **_p_\(<\) 0.01.  
against pathogen invasion, dysregulation of TNF-\(\alpha\) production has been implicated in a variety of diseases including Alzheimer's disease, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and major depression [27; 28; 29; 30]. IL-1\(\beta\) is produced as aoprotein by activated macrophages and is proteolytically processed by caspase-1 into its active form [31]. IL-1\(\beta\) is involved in a variety of cellular activities, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, but excessive production of IL-1\(\beta\) leads to a variety of auto-inflammatory syndromes [32]. Anti-inflammatory effects induced by LTA and lysates have shown differences in the regulation of inflammatory cytokine expression in vitro, while LTA inhibited both TNF-\(\alpha\) and IL-1\(\beta\) induced by LPS, lysates inhibited TNF-\(\alpha\) while showing a synergistic effect on IL-1\(\beta\). In terms of treatment concentration and efficacy, the anti-inflammatory efficacy of lysates did not attain the level of LTA. Lysates have advantages over LTA in other respects. Specifically, lysates are easy to manufacture and have high safety in storage and use. On the other hand, LTA requires high cost and time to separate and has poor safety, requiring care during storage and use. For these reasons, we attempted to prepare probiotic lysates with superior anti-inflammatory efficacy. Although research using _F. glaberrima_ has not been actively conducted, it has the effect of increasing specific efficacy through fusion with probiotics. MSF prepared through fermentation using _F. glaberrima_ extract showed superior anti-inflammatory efficacy compared to K8 lysates.