Beneficial Microbes

Finfish and fish products are globally the most acknowledged health-promoting foods. The rising incidence of pathogenic and disease outbreaks have had a sizeable impact on aquaculture. Microbial supplementation of food in the form of probiotics, prebiotics, and their controlled release combinations (=co-encapsulations) as 'synbiotics' is noted for its significant biotherapeutic and health benefits. Supplementation of probiotic microbial feed additives in the fish diet claims to improve fish health by modulation of resident intestinal microbiota and by introducing healthy microbiota procured from an exogenous source, capable of combating pathogens, improving nutrient uptake, assimilation, growth as well as survival...

Probiotics represent a promising tool to improve metabolic health, including lipid profiles and cholesterol levels. Modulation of the gut microbiome and the endocannabinoidome - two interrelated systems involved in several metabolic processes influenced by probiotics - has been proposed as a potential mechanism of action. This study establishes the impact of probiotics on metabolic health, gut microbiota composition and endocannabinoidome mediators in an animal model of hypercholesterolaemia. Syrian hamsters were fed either a low-fat low-cholesterol or high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet to induce hypercholesterolaemia and gavaged for 6 weeks with either Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CHOL-200 or a combination of the two...

Previously, we demonstrated that post-immunobiotics derived from Lactobacillus gasseri TMT36, TMT39, and TMT40 strains (HK36, HK39 and HK40, respectively) differentially regulated Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3)-mediated antiviral respiratory immunity in infant mice. In this work, we investigated whether the HK36, HK39 and HK40 nasal treatments were able to improve the resistance against primary respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and secondary pneumococcal pneumonia. Our results demonstrated that the three treatments increased the resistance to primary viral infection by reducing variations in body weight, RSV titers and lung damage of infected infant mice...

Among the isoflavones and isoflavone-derived metabolites, equol, which in the human gut is synthesised from daidzein by minority bacterial populations, shows the strongest estrogenic and antioxidant activity. The beneficial effects on human health of isoflavone consumption might be partially or indeed totally attributable to this equol. Although some of the bacterial strains involved in its formation have been identified, the interplay between the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota and equol producer phenotype has hardly been studied...

We investigated the effects of heat-killed Lactobacillus helveticus MCC1848 on daily mood states in healthy young adults. Participants (n=58) were randomised to receive heat-killed L. helveticus MCC1848 powder or placebo powder for 4 weeks. During the study period, adverse events were recorded in the participant diary. Mood states were assessed before and 2 and 4 weeks after initiation of the intervention. The primary outcomes were the shortened version of the Profile of Mood States 2 (POMS 2) scores. Secondary outcomes included other mood state (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); visual analogue scale (VAS)), quality of life (acute form of the SF-36v2), sleep (Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS)) and fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS)) scores...

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of early-life host specific probiotic and lactoferrin (LF) supplementations on diarrhoea incidence, iron (Fe)-zinc (Zn) balance and antioxidant capabilities in serum of neonatal piglets. A total of eight sow litters obtained from parity matched sows were randomly divided into four groups and assigned to one of the four interventions: control (2.0 ml normal saline), bovine lactoferrin (bLF) (100 mg bLF in normal saline), probiotic (Pb) (1×109 cfu of swine origin Pediococcus acidilactici FT28 strain) and bLF+Pb (both 100 mg bLF and 1×109 cfu of P...

In the present study, the safety, tolerance and impact of 1×109 cfu Bacillus clausii CSI08, 1×109 cfu Bacillus megaterium MIT411 and a probiotic cocktail containing Bacillus subtilis DE111® , Bacillus megaterium MIT411, Bacillus coagulans CGI314, and Bacillus clausii CSI08 with a total count of 2.0×109 cfu administered daily were assessed as compared with a maltodextrin containing placebo control. A total of 98 study participants received daily doses for 45 days, followed by a washout period of 2 weeks...

There is a growing awareness that supplementation with probiotic bacteria can impart beneficial effects during gastrointestinal disease, but less is known about the impact of probiotics on healthy subjects. Here, we report the outcomes of a post hoc analysis of recorded daily gastrointestinal events and bowel habits completed by healthy adults participating in a placebo-controlled, single-centre, randomised, double-blind, quadruple-arm probiotic tolerability study. Extensive screening ensured the healthy status of subjects entering the study and during a 2-week pre-intervention run-in period, a burden of gastrointestinal events (stomach pains, indigestion, acid reflux, stomach tightening, nausea and vomiting, stomach rumbling, bloating, belching and flatulence) was identified suggesting GI discomfort within the population...

This study aimed to assess the correlation between covariates of the vaginal microbiota and local levels of proinflammatory cytokines in women of reproductive age presenting four molecularly defined bacterial community-state types (CSTs). We enrolled 133 non-pregnant women who attended primary care health clinics for routine Pap-testing. Molecular profiling of vaginal microbiota was performed by V3-V4 16S rRNA sequencing. The covariates of vaginal microbiota included were: vaginal pH, total bacterial cell count, diversity (Shannon index), -richness and dominant taxa abundances...

Intestinal microbiota correction in the therapy of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an important medical problem. We conducted a laboratory and pilot clinical trial to investigate the effect of autoprobiotic bacteria, indigenous bifidobacteria and enterococci isolated from faeces and grown on artificial media to use as personified food additives in IBS treatment. Convincing evidence of the clinical efficacy of autoprobiotic was demonstrated by the disappearance of dyspeptic symptoms. The microbiome of patients with IBS was compared to a group of healthy volunteers and changes in the microbiome after autoprobiotic use were detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and 16S rRNA metagenome analysis...

Dysbiosis has been implicated in childhood obesity. Oral intake of fermented milk containing Lacticaseibacillus casei strain Shirota preserves gut microbiota (GM) diversity in children and adults. This study was a double-blind trial involving 37 overweight or obese children aged 6-10 years. Children were followed over a 6-week intervention period in which they received different fermented milk products containing L. casei Shirota: 10 in the first group received just L. casei Shirota; 13 received L. casei Shirota with 3 g/day of inulin ( L...

This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the impact of probiotic supplementation on treating chronic periodontal (CP) disease based on clinical and microbiological findings. Four databases were searched: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science databases. The references to relevant studies were also manually searched. Analyses were conducted using the Review Manager 5.2 software, while the quality of randomised controlled trials was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. In total, 19 studies were included in the meta-analysis...

Health of reproductive tract is tightly associated with balance of microbial communities in this area. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) represent common disturbances of vaginal communities. Vaginal discharge due to BV or VVC is a very frequent reason for visiting gynaecologist. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the novel evidence-based probiotics on BV and VVC patients. The study group included 89 BV and 93 VVC patients (aged 18-50 years) who were recruited into randomised double-blind placebo-controlled two-arm parallel trial...

Bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria are proteinaceous antibacterial metabolites that normally exhibit bactericidal or bacteriostatic activity against genetically closely related bacteria. In this work, the bacteriocinogenic potential of Pediococcus pentosaceus strain ST58, isolated from oral cavity of a healthy volunteer was evaluated. To better understand the biological role of this strain, its technological and safety traits were deeply investigated through a combined approach considering physiological, metabolomic and genomic properties...

The vaginal microbiota is a determinant for the risk of preterm birth (PTB). Dominance of the vaginal niche by Lactobacillus crispatus associates with term delivery. This is the first observational clinical study of live vaginal biotherapeutics ( Lactobacillus crispatus CTV-05 (LACTIN-V)) in pregnant women at high-risk of PTB. The primary aim was to explore safety, tolerability and acceptability of LACTIN-V in pregnancy. Women were offered a course of LACTIN-V at 14 weeks gestation for five consecutive days followed by weekly administration for six weeks...

When new-born mice are subjected to acute maternal separation stress, cow-milk based formula feeding, and brief recurrent hypoxia with cold stress, they develop gut inflammation similar to the phenotype of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, characterised by an increase in gut mucosal effector T (Teffs) and reduced Foxp3+ regulatory T (Tregs) cells. The imbalance can be prevented by probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (LR 17938). We hypothesised that LR 17938 could potentiate a tolerogenic function of Tregs...

Safer and more effective cow milk (CM)-oral immunotherapy that does not induce allergic reactions has not yet been standardised. We sought to explore the efficacy and feasibility of a combination of heat-killed Lactiplantibacillus plantarum YIT 0132 (LP0132) and oral immunotherapy for treating IgE-mediated cow milk allergy (CMA). We conducted a 24-week, double-blind, randomised (1:1), two-arm, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial of LP0132 intervention for treating IgE-mediated CMA in children aged 1-18 years (n=60) from January 29, 2018 to July 12, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan...

Bifidobacterium breve is a common habitant of the human gut and is used as probiotic in functional foods. B. breve has to cope with multiple stress conditions encountered during processing and passage through the human gut, including high temperature, low pH and exposure to oxygen. Additionally, during industrial processing and in the gut, B. breve could encounter nutrient limitation resulting in reduced growth rates that can trigger adaptive stress responses. For this reason, it is important to develop culture methods that elicit resistance to multiple stresses (robustness) encountered by the bacteria...

Previous studies using ileostomy samples from study participants demonstrated that the spore-forming probiotic Bacillus subtilis DE111® can germinate in the small intestine as early as 4 hours after ingestion. Metabolomics, proteomics and sequencing technologies, enabled further analysis of these samples for the presence of hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive molecules. In the DE111 treatment group, the polyphenols trigonelline and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, orotic acid, the non-essential amino acid cystine and the lipokine 12,13-diHome were increased...

Emerging evidence indicates that the alterations in the gut microbiota-brain axis (GBA), which is the bilateral connection between the gut microbial communities and brain function, are involved in several mental illnesses, including depression. Certain probiotic strains have been revealed to improve depressive behaviours and the dysregulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) metabolism in depression. Here we evaluated the potential antidepressant effects of Lactobacillus helveticus strains using an in vitro enterochromaffin cell model (RIN14B)...