The use of LGG® may reduce the risk of infection
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1st June 2007
Respiratory infections and gastrointestinal infections are the most common infectious diseases in children, while oral Candida infections are common in the elderly. Probiotic, health promoting bacteria balance the normal microbiota and stimulate the immune system, and may therefore reduce the risk of infection. Different probiotic strains have different effects. Katja Hatakka defended her doctoral dissertation at the University of Helsinki on Friday 1st June 2007. She studied the effects of the probiotic Lactobacillus GG (LGG®), which is used in Valio's Gefilus® products.
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The effects of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG bacterium and a specific probiotic combination containing LGG® on the risk of infection were investigated in healthy and infection-prone children, and in independent and institutionalised elderly people.
Respiratory infections decreased
In healthy children attending day-care, the daily seven-month consumption of probiotic milk containing Lactobacillus GG appeared to reduce complicated respiratory infections, mainly ear infections, by 17% and the need for antibiotic treatment by 19% compared to the placebo milk group.
In infection-prone children, the six-month consumption of a combination of four probiotic bacteria (LGG®, L. rhamnosus LC705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii JS, Bifidobacterium breve 99) appeared to reduce recurrent acute respiratory infections (at least four episodes of disease) by 12%, and the effect was particularly noticeable in a subgroup of children with allergic diseases.
The five-month consumption of the same probiotic combination did not show any beneficial effects on respiratory infections in frail, institutionalised elderly subjects.
The risk of oral Candida reduced in the elderly
When the probiotic combination (LGG®, L. rhamnosus LC705, Propionibacterium JS) was given in cheese to independent and institutionalised elderly subjects for four months, the oral carriage of high Candida counts was reduced by 75% and the risk of hyposalivation by 56% in the probiotic group vs. the placebo group.
Specific probiotics, such as Lactobacillus GG, appear to alleviate respiratory infections in healthy children and infection-prone children, especially those with allergic diseases. The effective mechanism of probiotics was not studied in these clinical interventions, but the mechanism is probably mediated through the stimulation of the immune system. The effects of probiotics in the prevention of infections are minor, and the effect seems to depend on the immunological state of the subject, as probiotics do not reduce the risk of infection in frail elderly subjects.
The effects are probiotic strain specific, and the form of consumption may impact the probiotics efficacy. The consumption of a specific probiotic combination containing Lactobacillus GG in a food matrix is beneficial to the oral health of the elderly, through the reduction of the carriage of Candida.
The official opponent was Professor Pentti Huovinen from the National Public Health Institute and the custos was Professor Jukka Meurman from the Institute of Dentistry at the University of Helsinki. The research supervisors were Professor Ville Valtonen from the University of Helsinki and Docent Riitta Korpela from Valio Ltd.
Further information: Katja Hatakka, Research Manager, Valio Ltd, Tel. +358 10 381 3046.
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Katja Hatakka
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