The Therapeutic Effect of a Multistrain Probiotic on Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Backgrounds. Recent studies suggest that diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with intestinal bacterial microflora, colonic inflammation, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multistrain probiotic int...

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Main Authors: Seok-Hoon Lee, Nam-Seok Joo, Kwang-Min Kim, Kyu-Nam Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Gastroenterology Research and Practice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/8791916
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Summary:Backgrounds. Recent studies suggest that diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with intestinal bacterial microflora, colonic inflammation, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multistrain probiotic intake on these associated factors in patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS. Methods. The recruited volunteers were adults who were diagnosed with diarrhea-predominant IBS according to the Rome III criteria. After 8 weeks of probiotic ingestion, changes in gastrointestinal symptoms, fecal microbiome, SIBO, and fecal calprotectin were determined. Results. There was an increase in beneficial bacteria (41.2 ± 16.8% vs. 53.7 ± 15.3%, P=0.018) and a decrease in harmful bacteria (13.0 ± 13.9% vs. 4.7 ± 4.0%, P=0.010) in the microbial stool analysis. The SIBO prevalence also decreased at the end of treatment. However, the average levels of fecal calprotectin showed a decreasing tendency, without reaching statistical significance (364.4 ± 729.1 mg/kg vs. 200.9 ± 347.6 mg/kg, P=0.375). Conclusion. Treatment with a multistrain probiotic for 8 weeks led to significant increases in beneficial bacteria in the gut as well as the improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms. This study is registered at the Clinical Research Information Service (KCT0002906).
ISSN:1687-6121
1687-630X