Figure - available from: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Incidence of constipation between Control and Probiotic groups The incidence of constipation was monitored at baseline (T0), during intervention (T4–T12) and after 4-week follow-up (T16) in Control and Probiotic groups. *p < 0.05 compared to the Control group (Chi-square test).
Source publication
Objectives
To evaluate the efficacy of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) on the incidence of constipation, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections (ARI), and nutritional status of young Vietnamese children.
Methods
A controlled field trial was conducted with 1003 children (3–5 years old) in Thanh Hoa province in Vie...
Similar publications
The use of probiotics in gastrointestinal ailments has shown therapeutic effects. The imbalance of the microbiota caused by antibiotic treatment or others has been shown to be restored to normal with probiotic treatment. In this study, a genomically and phenotypically safe probiotic Alkalihalobacillus clausii 088AE has been evaluated for ameliorati...
Citations
... Most of the studies delivered probiotics to children using milk drinks at a dose range of 5×10 7 to 6.5×10 9 CFU/day. Meanwhile, studies involving similar interventions using probiotics in healthy children seem to show less successful results, since only one out of three studies available showed significant positive results following the intervention [31][32][33]. This further emphasizes the beneficial effects of probiotics on undernourished children who are more likely to have gut dysbiosis. ...
Stunting, a condition characterized by impaired growth and development in children, remains a major public health concern worldwide. Over the past decade, emerging evidence has shed light on the potential role of gut microbiota modulation in stunting. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been linked to impaired nutrient absorption, chronic inflammation, altered short-chain fatty acid production, and perturbed hormonal and signaling pathways, all of which may hinder optimal growth in children. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing research exploring the bidirectional relationship between stunting and the gut microbiota. Although stunting can alter the gut microbial community, microbiota dysbiosis may exacerbate it, forming a vicious cycle that sustains the condition. The need for effective preventive and therapeutic strategies targeting the gut microbiota to combat stunting is also discussed. Nutritional interventions, probiotics, and prebiotics are among the most promising approaches to modulate the gut microbiota and potentially ameliorate stunting outcomes. Ultimately, a better understanding of the gut microbiota-stunting nexus is vital for guiding evidence-based interventions that can improve the growth and development trajectory of children worldwide, making substantial strides toward reducing the burden of stunting in vulnerable populations.
... In a research, children who received probiotic treatment also saw weight growth. 23 Probiotics have been found in certain trials to enhance the nutritional condition of malnourished children, but further research is necessary. [23][24][25] The current study did not observe blinding, despite the fact that it was a randomized controlled experiment. ...
... 23 Probiotics have been found in certain trials to enhance the nutritional condition of malnourished children, but further research is necessary. [23][24][25] The current study did not observe blinding, despite the fact that it was a randomized controlled experiment. ...
watery diarrhea in children aged 6 months to 5 years, at H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital/Combined Military Hospital, Muzaffarabad. Methodology: The Randomized Controlled Trial was done at Pediatric department, H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital/CMH, Muzaffarabad from January 2020 to December 2021. All patients aged 6 months to 5 years with acute watery diarrhea who present with severe, minimal, or no dehydration within the first five days of illness were included. Children meeting the inclusion criteria were consecutively enrolled and randomly assigned to either the study group (ORS plus oral administration of Saccharomyces Boulardii) or the control group (ORS alone). From day 1 to day 5, the quantity and consistency of feces were counted. On day 5, clinical effectiveness was indicated by 3 stools or fewer per day. SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis. Results: Of 252 patients, a significant mean difference of number of stools and consistency was observed on day 3, day 4, and day 5 (p:<0.005). A significant association of efficacy was observed with probiotic group (p: 0.021). After adjustment for other covariates, efficacy was 2.37 times higher among children who were in probiotic group as compared to control group (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.07-5.24, p: 0.033). The efficacy was 3.23 times higher among children with age ?3 years than children with age >3 years (aOR 3.23, 95% CI 1.32-7.91, p: 0.010). The efficacy was 94% lower among children without dehydration (aOR 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.52, p: 0.011) and 91% lower among children with some dehydration (aOR: 0.09, 95% CI 0.01-0.77, p: 0.028). Conclusion: The efficacy of probiotics was observed to be higher in treatment of acute watery diarrhea in hospitalized children. Probiotics, when used as an adjunct to standard therapy, may be beneficial in reducing the severity and duration of diarrhea, potentially leading to improved clinical outcomes.
... The total number of participants analyzed by these studies was 5876 children. Twelve trial studies [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] that used probiotics to influence GM and growth met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 5 studies [32,33,35,39,43] were among children with undernutrition, whereas 6 [34,37,38,[40][41][42] were among healthy children, and 1 study [36] was on children whose health status was not sufficiently described (children at-risk). ...
... Twelve trial studies [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] that used probiotics to influence GM and growth met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 5 studies [32,33,35,39,43] were among children with undernutrition, whereas 6 [34,37,38,[40][41][42] were among healthy children, and 1 study [36] was on children whose health status was not sufficiently described (children at-risk). Eight of the studies included the Lactobacillus genus only. ...
... Eight of the studies included the Lactobacillus genus only. Specifically, L. acidophilus [34,43], L. plantarum [35,38], L. casei [36,42], L. rhamnosus [39] and L. paracasei [32]. Three studies used a combination of 2 bacteria species, i.e., Bifidobacteria lactis þ L. rhamnosus [33], Bifidobacteria lactis þ L. paracasei [37], and L. casei þ L. reuteri [40] with the last study [41] using Enterococcus faecium. ...
Background
Childhood malnutrition is a public health challenge of much interest and concern globally. However, a perturbed gut microbiome (GM) may limit some nutrition interventions’ effects among healthy children with undernutrition.
Objectives
This review aimed to evaluate the effects of GM-targeted nutrition interventions on growth outcomes among children (0–59 mo) using published studies in low- and middle-income countries.
Methods
The methods were guided by the Cochrane methodology. The literature search was conducted to include articles published from inception to July 2023 in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Databases. We identified and included 35 studies among 11,047 children. The analysis was conducted considering various growth parameters in the qualitative synthesis and weight gain (kg) in the meta-analysis.
Results
In the qualitative synthesis, 55.6% of prebiotics, 66.7% of probiotics, 71.4% of synbiotics, and 28.6% of “microbiome complementary feed” studies had significant effects on growth outcomes. Also, prebiotics had more studies with significant effects among healthy children, whereas probiotics, synbiotics, and “microbiome complementary feeds” had more studies with significant effects among children with undernutrition. Nineteen studies were included in the meta-analyses, of which 7 (36.8%) measured GM outcomes. The meta-analysis showed that prebiotics exhibited heterogeneity but had significant effects on weight in the intervention as compared with the control (mean difference [MD]: 0.14 kg; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.25; I² = 63%, P = 0.02; 4 studies, n = 932). Probiotics had significant effects on weight in the intervention (MD: 0.15 kg; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.25; I² = 42%, P = 0.05; 8 studies, n = 2437) as compared to the control. However, synbiotics (MD: 0.26 kg; 95% CI: –0.04, 0.56; I² = 41%, P = 0.17; 4 studies, n = 1896] and “microbiome complementary feed” (MD: –0.03 kg; 95% CI: –0.18, 0.11; I² = 0%, P = 0.60; 3 studies, n = 733] had no significant effects on weight in the intervention as compared with control.
Conclusions
Although probiotics and synbiotics may be effective at enhancing growth among children, the selection of interventions should be contingent upon health status.
This trial was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ as CRD42023434109.
... The incidence of diarrhoea was significantly lower in the probiotic group than in the Control group. [20] Probiotics as curd are beneficial to enhance gut function as carbohydrate metabolism. [21] Ayurvedic classical texts contains references about therapeutic use of a curd in a few digestive diseases. ...
Curd, a tasty popular staple diet consisting therapeutic importance too. Chikitsa has mentioned as Aahar (diet), Vihar (regimen) and Aushadhi (Shodhana, Shaman). Curd consists various properties and it is mentioned to include as a diet in diseases as Atisara (diarrhoea), Grahani (malabsorption syndrome), Arsha (haemorrhoids), Peenas (chronic rhinitis). It is found that indication of a curd is commonly mentioned in Ayurveda regarding the digestive disorders. Curd as a diet consists Deepan (appetiser), Ruchiprada (enhancing taste) and Vataghna property. Search had been performed in ancient and modern literature and research publications related to use of a curd in digestive disorders considering probiotic property of a curd. It is easily available and economic. Adding a curd in a diet of patients suffering from digestive disorders is beneficial for effective recovery. The important significance of therapeutic use of probiotics is prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. This article is a review of available literature related to research question to enlighten role of a curd in digestive disorders. The study was planned for having focused information related to digestive disorders only with preventive, promotive and therapeutic use. Observations are suggesting that curd is a probiotic source of lactobacillus with a nutritive value. Being the richest source of probiotics, curd offers beneficial and healthy microflora to our alimentary canal. Fermented milk improves diarrhoea by improving and regulating the intestinal microbiota and environment as per research conducted. Habitual consumption of fermented milk containing lactobacillus prevented constipation in Vietnamese children as per mentioned in studied article. The yoghurt has also been associated with a decreased risk of developing colorectal cancer. This review article has emphasised on Aahar Chikitsa in digestive disorders related to use of a curd.
... Measurement of growth outcome is relatively more common in microbiota-targeted nutritional interventions, even though not as a primary outcome oftentimes. Studies using short term microbiota-targeted nutritional interventions (around 3-months) on healthy or malnourished under five children have shown increase in body weight (Surono et al., 2011;Kara et al., 2019;Kusumo et al., 2019;Mai et al., 2021); whereas, studies with longer duration of intervention (six months or more) documented significant improvement in linear growth (Saran et al., 2002;He et al., 2005). Our study achieved minimal duration (3-months) that is necessary for measurable effects on growth (Heuven et al., 2021), which might be one of the reasons it failed to show significant results. ...
Introduction
We evaluated the effects of yogurt supplementation and nutrition education to low educated mothers on infant-gut health at an early age.
Methods
We designed a three-arm pilot randomized controlled trial with 162 infants aged 5-6 months and at risk of stunting (LAZ ≤-1 SD and >-2 SD at enrollment) living in slum areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Eligible children were randomized to receive, 1) nutrition education, 2) yogurt supplementation plus nutrition education or 3) usual care. Three faecal inflammatory biomarkers alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and neopterin (NEO) were measured before and after three months of yogurt feeding.
Results
At the end of three months, there were no significant differences in the biomarker concentrations between the yogurt plus group and control. Compared to control, the adjusted mean faecal NEO concentration decreased by 21% (NEO: RR 0.79, 95% CI: 0.60, 1.04) and the adjusted mean faecal AAT concentration decreased by 8% (AAT: RR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.69, 1.22); whereas, the adjusted mean faecal MPO concentration increased by 14% (MPO: RR 1.14, 95% CI: 0.62, 2.09). Such changes were not apparent in the education only group.
Discussion
After a three-month trial of daily yogurt feeding to children at risk of stunting and infant feeding education to their mothers, reduction in one inflammatory biomarker reached close to statistical significance, but not all of the measured biomarkers. The study did not finish its endline measurements at 6-month as designed due to COVID 19 pandemic. This has greatly impacted the interpretation of the results as we could not establish a decreasing trend in biomarker concentration with continued yogurt feeding.
... The same results were also found for the lessresearched strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DSM 2601 (SS04). The latest clinical studies of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Shirota (Yakult ® ), find consumption leads to improvement of depressive symptoms [83], lipid metabolism and intestinal microbiota [94], digestive disorders [95], and immunological function [96]. Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Shirota has also shown antifungal activity [97] and, similarly to our study, antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Bacteroides spp. ...
The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is colonized by a diverse microbiota that works in harmony to protect the skin. However, when skin damage occurs, the skin microbiota is also disrupted, and pathogens can invade the wound and cause infection. Probiotics or other beneficial microbes and their metabolites are one possible alternative treatment for combating skin pathogens via their antimicrobial effectiveness. The objective of our study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of seven multi-strain dietary supplements and eleven single-strain microbes that contain probiotics against 15 clinical wound pathogens using the agar spot assay, co-culturing assay, and agar well diffusion assay. We also conducted genera-specific and species-specific molecular methods to detect the DNA in the dietary supplements and single-strain beneficial microbes. We found that the multi-strain dietary supplements exhibited a statistically significant higher antagonistic effect against the challenge wound pathogens than the single-strain microbes and that lactobacilli-containing dietary supplements and single-strain microbes were significantly more efficient than the selected propionibacteria and bacilli. Differences in results between methods were also observed, possibly due to different mechanisms of action. Individual pathogens were susceptible to different dietary supplements or single-strain microbes. Perhaps an individual approach such as a ‘probiogram’ could be a possibility in the future as a method to find the most efficient targeted probiotic strains, cell-free supernatants, or neutralized cell-free supernatants that have the highest antagonistic effect against individual clinical wound pathogens.
... For specific strains, there have been statistically significant, beneficial outcomes in human trials. 24,25 Specific genera of interest empirically include Lactobacillus, Lacticaseibacillus, Ligilactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium. 26,27 For prebiotics, fiber-which is a key microbial nutritional substrate-is potentially effective in improving bowel movement frequency, especially in children. ...
Background:
Oral microbial therapy has been studied as an intervention for a range of gastrointestinal disorders. Though research suggests that microbial exposure may affect the gastrointestinal system, motility, and host immunity in a pediatric population, data have been inconsistent, with most prior studies being in neither a randomized nor placebo-controlled setting. The aim of this randomized, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy of a synbiotic on increasing weekly bowel movements (WBMs) in constipated children.
Methods:
Sixty-four children (3-17 years of age) were randomized to receive a synbiotic (n = 33) comprising mixed-chain length oligosaccharides and nine microbial strains, or placebo (n = 31) for 84 days. Stool microbiota was analyzed on samples collected at baseline and completion. The primary outcome was a change from baseline of WBMs in the treatment group compared to placebo.
Results:
Treatment increased (p < 0.05) the number of WBMs in children with low baseline WBMs, despite broadly distinctive baseline microbiome signatures. Sequencing revealed that low baseline microbial richness in the treatment group significantly anticipated improvements in constipation (p = 0.00074).
Conclusions:
These findings suggest the potential for (i) multi-species-synbiotic interventions to improve digestive health in a pediatric population and (ii) bioinformatics-based methods to predict response to microbial interventions in children.
Impact:
Synbiotic microbial treatment improved the number of spontaneous weekly bowel movements in children compared to placebo. Intervention induced an increased abundance of bifidobacteria in children, compared to placebo. All administered probiotic species were enriched in the gut microbiome of the intervention group compared to placebo. Baseline microbial richness demonstrated potential as a predictive biomarker for response to intervention.
... Probiotics have been known for a long time as facilitator in maintaining a balanced composition of the gut microbiota. Recent studies have indicated the efficacy of probiotics in many indications, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (Niu and Xiao, 2020), psoriasis (Alesa et al., 2019), antibiotic associated diarrhoea (Blaabjerg et al., 2017), Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease (Ansari et al., 2020), and respiratory tract infections (Mai et al., 2021). These studies indicated that probiotic intervention leads to an improved health status. ...
Clinical decisions made by health professionals to recommend either drug or probiotic interventions for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be supported by proper knowledge of the efficacy rates of both types of interventions. In this article, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the efficacy of both probiotic- and drug interventions in IBS. Medline was searched between January 2015 – January 2021. Randomised controlled trials (RCT) recruiting participants > 18 years old with IBS and examining the effect of probiotics or drugs were eligible for inclusion. The data of the primary outcome, i.e. the persistence of IBS symptoms (dichotomous symptom data), were pooled to obtain a relative risk (RR), with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Secondary outcomes, abdominal pain- and bloating scores (continuous data), were pooled using a standardised mean difference with a 95% CI. The search identified 269 citations of which 32 RCTs were eligible. Our meta-analysis indicated that both probiotic and drug interventions are able to improve the persistence of IBS symptoms (RR 0.60 [0.51; 0.92] versus 0.87 [0.81; 0.92], respectively) and abdominal pain scores (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.35 [-0.56; -0.14] versus -0.10 [-0.20; 0.00], respectively). However, determining the overall efficacy of both intervention types is inherently complex and such results should be interpreted with care, due to the large diversity of probiotic- and drug types and doses, which is also complicated by variety in IBS subtypes. Hence, as a first step, more large scale randomised double blind placebo-controlled trials focussing on a specific IBS subtype targeted with specific probiotic strains or specific pharmaceutical modalities should be executed, enabling a more proper comparison between trials.
... As mentioned previously, probiotics have gradually replaced antibiotics for the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Many studies have shown that probiotics have health benefits [32,33]. After adding LP N1115, we found that the abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium increased in the qPCR results, and the relative abundance of F. prausnitzii also increased. ...
In vitro fermentation was used to evaluate the possible effects of intervention with Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 (LP N1115) on gut microbiota and metabolite shortchain fatty acids (SCFAs) in pregnant women with constipation and diarrhea. Feces were collected from pregnant women and fermented by YCFA medium to profile the changes in the gut microbiota before and after intervention with LP N1115 using 16SrRNA sequencing. At the same time, the changes in several specific bacteria were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and the SCFAs in fermentation were detected using gas chromatography (GC) for each subject to determine the effect of the intervention. In vitro intervention with LP N1115 significantly increased the relative abundances of Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Bifidobacterium in constipated pregnant women and reduced the contents of acetic acid, propanoic acid. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that LP N1115 also reduced the relative abundance of Clostridium_XI. The results of this study suggest that LP N1115 might increase the content of beneficial bacteria and reduce the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, which might be beneficial to gut health in pregnant women.
... The results suggest that the daily consumption of fermented milk containing L. casei strain Shirota may reduce the risk of URTIs in middle-aged office workers [109]. Mai et al. reported that consuming fermented milk containing L. casei strain Shirota (1.0 × 10 8 CFU per ml; dosage = 65 mL per day) for 12 weeks reduces the incidence of diarrhea, constipation, and acute respiratory tract infection in children (n = 510; 236 females, 274 males; age range = 3-5 years old) compared to that of the control group (n = 493; 209 females, 284 males; age range = 3-5 years old) [110] (Table 1). [110] CIDs: Respiratory and gastrointestinal common infectious diseases; NK: Natural killer; URTIs: Upper respiratory tract infections. ...
... Mai et al. reported that consuming fermented milk containing L. casei strain Shirota (1.0 × 10 8 CFU per ml; dosage = 65 mL per day) for 12 weeks reduces the incidence of diarrhea, constipation, and acute respiratory tract infection in children (n = 510; 236 females, 274 males; age range = 3-5 years old) compared to that of the control group (n = 493; 209 females, 284 males; age range = 3-5 years old) [110] (Table 1). [110] CIDs: Respiratory and gastrointestinal common infectious diseases; NK: Natural killer; URTIs: Upper respiratory tract infections. ...
... FFs used in all the clinical trials that are included in this review resulted to be probiotics supplemented with fermented dairy products that exhibited beneficial effects against respiratory tract infections in children, adults, and elderly individuals. Among the reviewed studies reporting the probiotics used in the intervention of FFs, L. casei [84,85,105,106,109,110] and L. paracasei (heat-killed) [107,108] are the most commonly used probiotics for health-promoting properties. The results supported the assertion that regular consumption of probiotic-containing fermented drinks could reduce the risk of CIDs [84,[105][106][107][108]110] and URTIs [40,84,85,89,104,105,[107][108][109][110], especially in children [40,[106][107][108]110]. ...
Fermented foods (FFs) hold global attention because of their huge advantages. Their health benefits, palatability, preserved, tasteful, and aromatic properties impart potential importance in the comprehensive evaluation of FFs. The bioactive components, such as minerals, vitamins , fatty acids, amino acids, and other phytochemicals synthesized during fermentation, provide consumers with several health benefits. Fermentation of food is an ancient process that has met with many remarkable changes owing to the development of scientific technologies over the years. Initially , fermentation relied on back-slapping. Nowadays, starter cultures strains are specifically chosen for the type of fermentation process. Modern biotechnological methods are being implemented in the fermentation process to achieve the desired product in high quality. Respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract infections are the most severe health issues affecting human beings of all age groups, especially children and older adults, during this COVID-19 pandemic period. Studies suggest that the consumption of probiotic Lactobacillus strains containing fermented foods protects the subjects from common infectious diseases (CIDs, which is classified as upper respiratory tract infections, lower respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal infections) by improving the host's immune system. Further studies are obligatory to develop probiotic-based functional FFs that are effective against CIDs. Presently, we are urged to find alternative, safe, and cost-effective prevention measures against CIDs. The current manuscript briefs the production of FFs, functional properties of FFs, and their beneficial effects against respiratory tract infections. It summarizes the outcomes of clinical trials using human subjects on the effects of supplementation of FFs.
