title: Impact of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and, Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5-containing yoghurt, on fecal bacterial counts of healthy adults.
abstract: This randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, parallel dose-response study investigated the impact of 4-week commercial yoghurt consumption supplemented with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (BB-12) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5) on fecal bacterial counts of healthy adults. Fifty-eight volunteers were randomly assigned to three different groups: 1. placebo (no probiotic, no starter and no green tea extract); 2. Yoptimal (10(9)cfu/100g of BB-12 and LA-5 and 40mg of green tea extract) and 3. Yoptimal-10 (10(10)cfu/100g of BB-12, 10(9)cfu/100g of LA-5 and 40mg of green tea extract). These yoghurt products also contained Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (10(7)cfu/100g) and Streptococcus thermophilus (10(10)cfu/100g). The quantitative PCR (qPCR) results showed that there were significant increases (P=0.02) in bifidobacteria counts with the Yoptimal treatment as compared to baseline. The fecal numbers of B. animalis subsp. lactis and LA-5 significantly increased in the two probiotic treatments compared to the placebo treatment. Viable counts of fecal lactobacilli were significantly higher (P=0.05) and those of enterococci were significantly lower (P=0.04) after the intervention when compared to placebo. No significant difference was observed between treatments in volunteers' weight, waist girth, blood pressure, fasting plasma triglyceride and HDL-C concentrations, as well as cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio. However, a significant increase in plasma cholesterol levels was observed in the placebo group (P=0.0018) but the levels remained stable in the two probiotic yoghurt groups. These results show that probiotic strains supplemented in the form of yoghurt remain active during gut transit and are associated with an increase in beneficial bacteria and a reduction in potentially pathogenic bacteria. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00730626.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (INAF), 2440 Hochelaga Boulevard, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Savard
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lamarche
authors.forename: Marie-Eve
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Paradis
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thiboutot
authors.forename: Émilie
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Laurin
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001644:Bifidobacterium; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007779:Lactobacillus acidophilus; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015014:Yogurt / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol