18 October 2007 – Probiotic and prebiotic supplements preventing eczema in infants.
Using data covering over 2,000 infants and 12 studies, Australian researchers reported that probiotics such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and the prebiotics GOS and FOS showed benefits for a range of allergic diseases and food reactions. The probiotics were generally consumed by the mother towards the end of pregnancy and when breastfeeding, or added to formula for the first six months.
Source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 4. "Prebiotics in infants for prevention of allergic disease and food hypersensitivity" Authors: D.A. Osborn, J.K. Sinn
02 October 2007 – Prebiotics may help prevent adolescent weight gain.
A study at the Baylor College of Medicine and published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that during puberty especially, imbalance between energy intake and expenditure can cause weight gain and possible obesity. The study, involving 97 healthy adolescents, administered either inulin/oligofructose (FOS) or a placebo for one year. Results showed less increase in BMI for the group given prebiotics, with significantly lower body weight and body fat mass in these participants compared to the controls.
Source: “Effect of Prebiotic Supplementation and Calcium intake on Body Mass Index.” Journal of Pediatrics, September 2007, Volume 151, Pages 293-298.
05 September 2007 – Probiotics reduce incidence of Salmonella in pigs, leading to safer pork products.
Researchers from the UK’s Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge used a special technique based on NASA space technology, growing pieces of pig gut in a 3D matrix to replicate the environment inside a pig’s gut. Following the experiment the team believe that giving pigs probiotics can reduce the likelihood of the pigs developing salmonella, and therefore lead to safer pork for human consumption.
4 August 2007 – The role of a probiotics mixture in the treatment of childhood constipation: a pilot study.
This study by Bekkali et al examined the effects of probiotics such as Bifidobacteria bifidum, Bifidobacteria infantis and Lactobacillus rhamnosus in children aged 4-16 years with constipation. The study found an increase in frequency of bowel movements and a decrease in the number of faecal incontinence episodes in children given the probiotics, concluding beneficial effects on symptoms of constipation and a decrease of abdominal pain.
14 May 2007 – Probiotics could greatly improve the health of premature babies.
An Australian meta-analysis including over 1000 infants and various probiotic supplements found a reduced risk of necrotising enterocolitis in children given probiotics, as well as a 53% reduction in the risk of mortality. Necrotising enterocolitis is one of the most common gastrointestinal problems in premature babies; the study, with “remarkably consistent results”, found the risk of enterocolitis to be reduced by 74 percent in babies given probiotics.
Source: The Lancet. 12-18 May 2007, Volume 369, Issue 9573, Pages 1614-1620. "Probiotics for prevention of necrotising enterocolitis in preterm neonates with very low birthweight: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials"
31 March 2007 – Probiotics: Are they worth taking?
An extensive study by Pamela Mason on the suggested benefits of probiotics began by stating the vital factors of a good probiotic product: the ability to resist gastric acidity, bile salts, and pancreatic enzymes; adhesion to the gut wall lining; and capacity to colonise the bowel. Mason concluded that probiotics such as acidophilus are promising in the prevention of diarrhoea, especially antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. She also noted the high potential for probiotics to help prevent or treat allergic disease such as eczema.
Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal (Vol 278) 31 March 2007, Pages 373-376.
20 March 2007 – Probiotics reducing Salmonella food poisoining.
Irish scientists found that probiotics led to improvements in both clinical and microbiological outcomes of Salmonella infection in pigs. The pigs were fed either milk supplemented with 5 strains of Lactobacillus, or regular milk for 30 days, and on the sixth day pigs were orally administered with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Pigs taking probiotics showed less diarrhoea as well as significantly lower numbers of Salmonella in faecal samples. This study shows significant benefit for use in the food industry and, if the study can be translated to humans, could have large effects here too. Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Volume 73, Issue 6, Pages 1858-1863 "A five-strain probiotic combination reduces pathogen shedding and alleviates disease signs in pigs challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium."
07 March 2007 – Encapsulation of probiotics: the best way?
The dairy sector has often been the area where probiotics have boomed, yet more and more research has been focusing on the protection of probiotics; coating and encapsulating the friendly bacteria in order to increase stability and to improve the probiotics’ survival through gastric juices and biliary salts, so they can reach the gut in a viable form. Scientists from the Technical Research Centre of Finland furthermore found that various prebiotic fibres could help to protect the stability of probiotic strains of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus species. Source: Nutraingredients.com
20 February 2007 – Many consumers missing out on health benefits of probiotics.
Lisa Miles at the British Nutrition Foundation stated that probiotic products are looked at by consumers who closely follow the health market, and also those who are wealthier, due to the relatively high cost of these products. However, as probiotics benefit those with an imbalance of microbiota in the gut, which may be a result of poor diet, Miles stated that it may be time to open probiotics up to a new sector of the market. Miles furthermore recommended that consumers carefully read the labels of probiotic products, ensuring that they have a healthy dosage of well researched probiotics. Source: Nutraingredients.com
08 February 2007 – Synbiotics (both probiotics and prebiotics) reduce risk of colon cancer.
A large, EU sponsored study found that a mix of prebiotics and probiotics acutely altered the composition of colonic bacterial ecosystems, and could thereby decrease the numbers of cancer-promoting bacteria. The amount of Clostridium perfringens, a strain thought to convert dietary substances to carcinogenic compounds, decreased significantly in participants given the synbiotic product. Lead author Joseph Rafter stated that use of synbiotics may represent a good means of “chemoprevention of colon cancer in humans”.
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Volume 85, Pages 488-496 "Dietary synbiotics reduce cancer risk factors in polypectomized and colon cancer patients"
16 January 2007 - Combination of probiotics and prebiotics (synbiotic) in infant formula = the future of infant formulas?
A study sponsored by Nestle found formula containing the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum and prebiotics GOS and FOS to be completely safe, and beneficial to the health of infants. The study involved 138 infants who received either the synbiotic (containing both probiotics and prebiotics) formula or a control. Scientists concluded that the synbiotic formula led not only to fewer incidences of constipation, but also to fewer infections of the respiratory tract.
Source: Nutrition January 2007, Volume 23, Issue 1, Pages 1-8 "Clinical evaluation of a new starter formula for infants containing live Bifidobacterium longum BL999 and prebiotics" Authors: G. Puccio, C. Cajozzo, F. Meli, F. Rochat, D. Grathwohl and P. Steenhout
02 January 2007 – Prebiotics could reduce artery hardening and boost heart health.
Researchers from the Auvergne Human Nutrition Research Centre reported that mice given prebiotics in the form of either long-chain inulin or an oligofructose-enriched inulin showed significantly reduced levels of triacylglycerol and 30 less atherosclerotic plaque. Hardening of the arteries, or Atherosclerosis, is a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease, which causes up to 50% of deaths in Europe.
The full report, by M-H Rault-Nania et al. can be found in the British Journal of Nutrition, Volume 96, Number 5, Pages 840-844.
22 October 2006 – Prebiotics in formula could cut infections in infants.
Healthy infants given formula with the prebiotics GOS and FOS had 9.6% lower incidence of recurring infections than infants given formula without prebiotics. Researchers from Milan, Rotterdam and Germany reported that the infants given prebiotics had fewer recurring respiratory infections, including fewer infections that needed to be treated with antibiotics.
20 October 2006 – Prebiotics reduce childhood infections and illness.
A study at the Université René Descartes, Paris, recruited 35 healthy children and gave them either a supplement of the prebiotic oligofructose, or a maltodextrin placebo for 21 days. Children in the prebiotic group had higher levels of Bifidobacteria in their faeces, and significantly decreased levels of the potentially harmful bacteria, clostridia. This group showed fewer infectious diseases, less flatulence, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever compared to the controls.
2003 - Health aspects of probiotics. A Review by Arthur Ouwehand & Satu Vesterland.
This review on the health benefits of probiotics in humans noted benefits in taking probiotic supplements, particularly to prevent or relieve diarrhoea; to relieve lactose intolerance; and to enhance the immune system. It stated that “selected probiotic strains have specific health benefits”, further noting that probiotics may provide alternatives or supplements to conventional treatment.
