title: Effects of oral intake of heat-killedLactobacillus brevisSBC8803 (SBL88™) on dry skin conditions: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: Lactobacilli are important in intestinal homeostasis, which involves the regulation of immune function, digestive health, cholesterol absorption and intestinal tumor growth amongst others. Our previous investigations have suggested that oral intake of heat-killedLactobacillus brevis(L. brevis) SBC8803 (SBL88™) suppresses dermatitis by modulating the immune function in an atopic dermatitis mouse model. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of heat-killedL. brevisSBC8803 intake on skin hydration conditions in humans. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted with volunteers with slightly higher levels of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) on the forearm. The subjects (126 people aged between 21 and 59 years) were randomly allocated to three groups so that the level of TEWL and the age were distributed equally among the groups. The subjects took placebo or heat-killedL. brevisSBC8803 at a daily dose of 25 or 50 mg for 12 weeks. Following the exclusion of eight subjects for plausible reasons (two withdrawals from the study, two for study violations, one for not meeting exclusion criteria and three due to their physical condition), 118 subjects were subjected to the analysis. The results of the present study revealed that following the analysis of the whole populations, marginal differences were observed in TEWL (for example, suppression of skin water loss) at the neck in the 25 mg/day group at week 8 and at the lower eye region in the 50 mg/day group at week 4 (P=0.05 and 0.09, respectively, compared with the placebo group analyzed by Dunnett's test). A significant increase in corneal hydration was also observed at the neck in the 25 mg/day group at week 12 (P=0.06, as compared with the placebo group as analyzed by Dunnett's test). In the analysis of the subpopulations whose habitual frequency of taking lactic fermentation products was less than once per week, the levels of corneal hydration at the neck (in the 50 mg/day group) and lower eye region (in the 25 mg/day group) were significantly increased at week 12 (P<0.05). In conclusion, the results of the present investigation suggest that oral intake of heat-killedL. brevisSBC8803 is effective at improving skin hydration conditions in populations with low habitual frequency of taking lactic fermentation products.
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Asako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saiki
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuuta
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsuchimoto
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasukazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakakita
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.affiliation: Frontier Laboratories of Value Creation, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Yaizu, Shizuoka 425-0013, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
keywords: Lactobacillus; clinical study; skin care; skin moisturizing; transepidermal water loss