Fermented soybean was found effective in suppressing asthma-induced airway inflammation in patients. Recent studies by a team of researchers from Department of Respiratory Medicine, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, in a mice model revealed that fermented soy products helped significantly reduce eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and thus inflammation around the bronchi and mucus production in the bronchial epithelium was suppressed. The study, published in the Nutrients Journal, said that they had analysed the effects of soy products in the expression of Th2 cytokines and the immunoglobulin serum IgE that induced eosinophilic inflammation. When compared to mice fed a normal diet, the fermented soybean fed group showed significantly suppressed eosinophilic inflammation in BALF. Although the relationship between soy intake and allergic diseases had been epidemiologically reported in the past, suggesting that the components of soy may have some anti-allergic effects, the new study reports that imbalances in the gut microbiota may be involved in the immune system and allergic diseases, and the fermented dietary fibre, which is found in fermented soy products, might have beneficial effects in allergic asthma models.