Different probiotic strains have different effects on the immune system
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6th June 2008
Riina Kekkonen, M.Sc. (Health Sci), concludes in her recently published doctoral dissertation that probiotics have strain-specific effects on decreasing inflammatory mediators and that the effects of probiotic multispecies differ from those of single strains. Ms Kekkonen studied the effect of health promoting bacteria on the immune response in healthy adults. Probiotics have prior to this mostly been examined with reference to the prevention and treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases and allergies.
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Ms Kekkonen investigated the effects of probiotic strains in clinical studies involving healthy adults and in a primary cell culture model using human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
B. lactis ssp. animalis Bb12 and P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS showed the best anti-inflammatory potential in PBMC, and were along with L. rhamnosus GG (LGG®) as a well-documented reference probiotic selected for clinical studies in healthy adults. LGG® appeared to demonstrate the best anti-inflammatory potential in the clinical trials while inducing a moderate response in vitro. All three strains are included in the combination of four probiotics patented by Valio and marketed as Valio Gefilus® MAX which significantly relieves stressed stomach symptoms.
LGG decreased e.g. inflammatory mediators such as sensitive C-reactive protein and inflammatory cytokines in the three-week clinical setting in healthy adults. In the longer three-month clinical study, LGG was able to reduce the duration of gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy adults.
Probiotics seem to have strain-specific effects on the immune system and LGG in particular appeared to possess anti-inflammatory potential. In vitro screening of cytokine responses in a primary cell culture using human PBMC should not be applied as the only indicator of the immunomodulatory properties of probiotics, as the in vitro model did not reflect the effects in vivo.
Riina Kekkonen, Master of Science (Health Sciences, Nutrition), defended her doctoral thesis Immunomodulatory effects of probiotic bacteria in healthy adults at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Helsinki on Friday 6th June 2008. The official opponent was Professor Seppo Salminen from the University of Turku and the custos Esa Korpi from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Helsinki.
Further information
Riina Kekkonen, Senior Scientist, PhD,
Valio Ltd, R&D
Tel. +358 10 381 3007, E-mail: riina.kekkonen@valio.fi
The thesis can be read at http://ethesis.helsinki.fi
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Riina Kekkonen
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