Two new studies find two very different uses for probiotics. Probiotic capsules and probiotic-containing food (such as yogurt) have long been recommend in traditional and natural medicine to ease the gastrointestial distress that commonly results from antibiotic use or illness, to avoid or treat candidas (yeast) infections, to ease food allergies, and a host of other maladies.
In the first new study, published in the July 14 issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal), researchers found evidence to support the theory that probiotics may prevent diarrhea caused by antibiotics.1 Researchers gave 135 hospital patients taking antibiotics a 97ml (100gm) probiotic beverage or placebo beverage twice daily throughout their course of antibiotics and continuing for one week after the course ended. The probiotic drink contained Lactobacillus casei, L. bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus. Thirty-four percent of the patients who received the placebo developed diarrhea with 17% of the patients developing diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile, a very serious and difficult to treat bacteria associated with antibiotic treatment. Only 12% of the patients receiving the probiotics developed diarrhea, none of whom developed diarrhea caused by C. difficile. Thus the researchers concluded that the probiotics " L. casei, L. bulgaricus, and S. thermophilus can reduce the incidence of antibiotic associated diarrhea and C. difficile associated diarrhea."
In a second, unrelated study, researchers found that probiotics may help with recovery from severe burns by reducing sepsis. The study, which was published in the August issue of the journal Burns, was conducted on 56 burn patients admitted to Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel.2 In the study, half the patients (28) we given oral lactobacillus supplements and half were not. Among those patients with 41% to 70% body surface burns there was a significant difference, with zero deaths among the patients who received probiotics and 5 deaths among those in the control group who did not receive probiotics. The researchers concluded that in cases of acute burns over a large surface area, probiotics may be clinically beneficial.
Learn more about probiotics here, including our Super Lactobacillus 11 Billion CFU Probiotics with FOS and our ExtraFlora™ 50 Billion CFU Probiotics in acid-resistant vegetarian capsules.
1.Hickson, M., A. L. D'Souza, et al. (2007). "Use of probiotic Lactobacillus preparation to prevent diarrhoea associated with antibiotics: randomised double blind placebo controlled trial." Bmj 335(7610): 80.
2.Koren, L., R. Gurfinkel, et al. (2007). "The effect of Lactobacillus bacteria supplement on sepsis and its complications in patients with acute burns." Burns 33(5): 594-8.
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