Research reveals digestive health secrets #2

Supplier science

Even Dannon studied its DanActive withLactobacillus casei in 638 preschoolers. After three months, those drinking the yogurt had 19 percent fewer common infectious diseases. Bzzt – drug claim!4

Lactobacillus GG (LGG) – the most-studied probiotic strain ever, supplied by Chr Hansen – has hundreds of studies showing, for instance, reduced gastrointestinal-tract infections and reduced respiratory-tract infections.5

Danisco supplies its HOWARU line of probiotics with Bifidobacteria animalis lactis Bi-07, which shows reduced cold and flu symptoms in children.6

Another strain in its HOWARU line demonstrated lactose-intolerant children had decreased symptoms after consuming dairy products with its probiotic compared to controls.7

Ganeden Biotech's BC30 probiotic is notable for its nine published studies in the last two years. The spore forming bacteria has a protective layer, which makes it able to survive food-processing conditions such as heat and pressure, as well as digestion, so the strain ends up exactly where it can provide the mosthealth benefit. This opens up many more food possibilities than your standard yogurt delivery system, in which the probiotics are placed in at the end of the yogurt production process.

In one double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial with 44 subjects, the BC30 probiotic group experienced statistically significant improvements in abdominal pain and bloating for patients with IBS.8

Other published studies on BC30 show improvements in patients with post-meal intestinal gas-related symptoms like distention and flatulence, as well as diarrhea-related IBS symptoms. 9,10
A 2008 meta-analysis concluded that BC30, LGG and Saccharomyces boulardii were most effective in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhea.11

Chr. Hansen is the world's largest supplier of probiotics, most of which are backed by published clinicals. Its BB-12 strain was shown to help geriatric patients with constipation, as well as act as a prophylactic against traveller's diarrhea.12,13

UAS Laboratories supplies Multi-Flora Probiotics, which contain 12 billion colony forming units (CFUs) using the strains L. acidophilus DDS-1, B. longum, B. bifidum and B. lactis. A 2010 study at the Mayo Clinic on 25 patients with IBS found significant improvements after 60 days of treatment, with 84 percent of patients showing significant improvement in abdominal pain, 74 percent in bloating, 92 percent in belching, 88 percent in flatulence, 91 percent in diarrhea and 87 percent in constipation. No clinically evident side effects were observed.14

Lastly – but certainly not least – is the fact that not all probiotics are created equally. This case was made in a 2007 study that compared five commercial probiotic products in cases of children's diarrhea. Researchers found that LGG and a combination of four species (L. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, L. acidophilus and B. bifidum) were effective, but ineffective were Saccharomyces boulardii, Bacillus clausii and Enterococcus faecium SF68.15

Nebraska Cultures also markets the DDS-1 strain under the Dr. Shahani's brand name. Dr. Khem Shahani first isolated the strain more than 40 years ago at the University of Nebraska (DDS stands for Department of Dairy Science strain 1), and the company, now run by his sons Michael and Robbin Shahani, guards as a trade secret their father's methods of culturing and stabilizing the strain. A recent, yet-to-be-published study by Prof. Robert Hutkins of the University of Nebraska assessed the persistence of common probiotic strains, including DDS-1, in the human gut. The study concluded that regardless of strain, probiotic organisms do not colonize the gut, and therefore, regular supplementation is needed for them to be consistently present in the digestive tract.

The lesson here for marketers is to consult with your R&D staff to make sure your product has the right strain, and the right dose (at the end of shelf life and not date of manufacture, thank you very much) to match the specific health benefit you are pitching.

http://www.functionalingredientsmag.com/content/print.aspx?topic=research-reveals-digestive-health-secrets

http://www.depsyl.com/

http://back2basicnutrition.com/

http://bionutritionalresearch.olhblogspace.com/

References:

5. Hojsak I, et al. Lactobacillus GG in the prevention of nosocomial gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections. Pediatrics. 2010 May;125(5):e1171-7.
6. Leyer GJ, et al. Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children. Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):e172-9.
7. Montes, R. G, et al. Effect of milks inoculated with Lactobacillus acidophilus or a yogurt starter culture in lactose-maldigesting children. J Dairy Sci 1995;78:1657-64.
8. Hun L. Bacillus coagulans significantly improved abdominal pain and bloating in patients with IBS. Postgrad Med 2009;121(2):119-24.
9. Kalman DS, et al. A proepective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group dual site trial to evaluate the effects of a Bacillus coagulans-based product on functional intestinal gas symptoms. BMC Gastroenterology 2009;9:85.
10. Dolin BJ. Effects of a proprietary Bacillus coagulans preparation on symptoms of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 2009 Dec;31(10):655-9.
11. Doron SJ, et al. Probitoics for prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. J Clin Gastroenterol 2008;42 (Suppl 2):S58-S63.
12. Alm, L., Ryd-Kjellen, E., Setterberg, G., Blomquist, L. Effect of a new fermented milk product "CULTURA" on constipation in geriatric patients. 1993. 1st Lactic Acid Bacteria Computer Conference Proceedings. Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, England.
13. Black, F.T. Placebo-contolled double-blind trial of 4 lactobacilli strains (HIP) used as prophylactic agent against traveller's diarrhea (2 trials). 1996. Report by G. Nirnberger, Bioconsult, GmbH, Austria.
14. http://www.uaslabs.com/sections/newsletters/DDS%20Probiotics%20show%20promise%20for%20IBS.pdf
15. Canani RB, et al. Probiotics for treatment of acute diarrhoea in children: randomised clinical trial of five different preparations. BMJ. 2007 Aug 18;335(7615):340.