Table 3.

Within-group changes in functional dyspepsia–relative serum indexes

Change in serum indexes/(ng/ml)		Placebo (n = 45)	Positive_control (n = 48)	BL-99_low (n = 47)	BL-99_high (n = 45)	poverall	p
							Positive_control vs. Placebo	BL-99_low vs. Placebo	BL-99_high vs. Placebo	BL-99_low vs. Positive_control	BL-99_high vs. Positive_control	BL-99_high vs. BL-99_low
From the baseline to the post-treatment period	PGIa	3.39 ± 19.65	14.00 ± 26.37	2.79 ± 30.253	10.58 ± 20.70	0.109	0.053	0.917	0.207	0.039	0.525	0.169
	PGIIb	−0.45 ± 6.29	−2.38 ± 11.04	−0.61 ± 3.69	−2.24 ± 5.86	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	PGRc	0.85 ± 4.52	4.59 ± 6.25	0.72 ± 2.87	2.23 ± 6.95	0.003	0.001	0.916	0.256	0.001	0.046	0.221
	G17d	0.14 ± 1.60	0.78 ± 3.06	1.87 ± 2.96	4.11 ± 4.73	<0.001	0.378	0.024	<0.001	0.130	<0.001	0.003
From baseline to the 2-week follow-up period	PGI	−2.82 ± 14.48	−3.02 ± 19.82	−1.31 ± 15.00	−2.15 ± 12.65	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	PGII	−1.26 ± 5.84	−3.44 ± 3.60	−1.18 ± 6.06	−0.64 ± 5.56	0.060	0.060	0.942	0.600	0.047	0.013	0.647
	PGR	0.18 ± 4.45	2.68 ± 4.32	0.77 ± 3.65	−0.54 ± 4.05	0.003	0.007	0.543	0.447	0.036	<0.001	0.168
	G17	−0.47 ± 8.19	0.11 ± 3.66	0.35 ± 4.29	0.33 ± 6.09	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) in the per-protocol (PP) set. Patients in the placebo, positive_control, BL-99_low, and BL-99_high groups were administered with maltodextrin (2 g/day), rabeprazole (10 mg/day), low-dose BL-99 (1 × 10¹⁰ CFU/day), and high-dose BL-99 (5 × 10¹⁰ CFU/day), respectively. All hypothesis tests were two-sided. One-way analysis of variance with least significant difference method was used to analyze the differences among the four groups, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

BL-99, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99.

^aPGI: pepsinogen I.

^bPGII: pepsinogen II.

^cPGR: pepsinogen ratio = PGI/PGII.

^dG17: Gastrin 17.