TABLE 1.

Probiotic administration in human studies¹

Probiotic and Patients	Design	Dose/duration	Outcome	Reference
L. rhamnosus GG				(36)
Healthy, term infants	Double blind	107 CFU/g powdered milk	Increased weight and length
	Placebo-controlled	Until the age of 6 mo
L. paracasei ssp. paracasei F19				(37)
Healthy, term infants	Double blind	108 CFU/d	Length, weight, head circumference
	Placebo-controlled	From 4 to 13 mo of age
L. rhamnosus GG				(34)
Pregnant women and children	Double blind	1010 CFU/d	BMI and BWG in children
	Placebo-controlled	Mothers: 4 wk before delivery
		Children: 6 mo after birth
L. rhamnosus GG and B. lactis Bb12
Pregnant women	Double blind	1010 CFU/d each strain	Over the pregnancy: BWG, adiposity, insulin sensitivity	(80)
	Placebo-controlled	From trimester 1 of pregnancy until the end of exclusive breastfeeding	In the postpartum period: adiposity	(81)
L. acidophilus L-1				(43)
Normal-weight adults	Open trial	4.9 × 109 to 2.7 × 1010/d	BW, blood lipid profile
	Placebo-controlled	6 wk
B. breve CBG-C2 and Enterococcus faecalis FK-23				(82)
Healthy adults	Double blind	Doses not mentioned	BW, BMI, LDL cholesterol
	Placebo-controlled	8 wk
L. acidophilus La5 and B. lactis Bb12				(42)
Women with BMI < 30	Open trial	3.9 × 107/g each strain	BW, BMI, plasma lipid profile
	Placebo-controlled	300 g/d
		6 wk
L. gasseri SBT2055				(32, 33)
Overweight and obese adults	Double blind	108–1011 CFU/d	BWG, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, adiposity
	Placebo-controlled	12 wk
L. salivarius Ls-33				(41)
Obese adolescents	Double blind	1010 CFU/d	BW, height, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio
	Placebo-controlled	12 wk
L. casei Shirota				(39)
Obese with metabolic syndrome	Open trial	3 × 6.5 × 109 CFU/d	No effect on body weight, BMI, and gut permeability
	Control group without placebo	3 mo
L. casei Shirota				(40)
Obese with metabolic syndrome	Open trial	3 × 6.5 × 109 CFU/d	Insulin sensitivity, endothelial function, low-grade inflammation
	Control group without placebo	12 wk
L. gasseri BNR17				(83)
Overweight and obese adults	Double blind	6 × 1010 CFU/d	BW, BMI, adiposity
	Placebo-controlled	12 wk
Lactobacillus spp.				(84)
Morbidly obese individuals after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass	Open trial	2.4 × 109/d	Weight loss
	Control group without placebo	6 mo
L. plantarum 299v				(85)
Males with moderately elevated blood cholesterol	Double blind	5 × 107 CFU/mL	Plasma lipids (TG, total, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol) and glucose
	Placebo-controlled	200 mL/d
E. faecium and S. thermophilus				(86)
Healthy overweight and obese adults	Double blind	6 × 107/mL for E. faecium	BW and fat mass, LDL cholesterol
	Placebo-controlled	1 × 109/mL for S. thermophilus
		450 mL/d
		8 wk
L. plantarum 299v				(44)
Smokers	Double blind	5 × 107 CFU/mL	BMI, systolic blood pressure and other atherosclerosis risk factors
	Placebo-controlled	400 mL/d
		6 wk
L. acidophilus NCFM				(38)
Males with type 2 diabetes or impaired/normal glucose tolerance	Double blind	1010 CFU/d	Insulin sensitivity, systemic inflammation
	Placebo-controlled	4 wk
L. gasseri SBT2055				(87)
Adults with hypertriacylglycerolemia	Single blind	5 × 1010 CFU/100 g	BW, BMI, NEFA after oral fat-loading test, Hb A1c
	Placebo-controlled	200 g/d
		4 wk

¹The table was designed as follows: the first part describes studies performed with children, the second part describes studies performed with pregnant women, the third part describes studies performed with healthy or normal-weight adults, and the last part describes studies performed with obese individuals or patients with metabolic syndrome. Outcomes are indicated as follows: beneficial, bold; null, normal font; harmful, italics. BW, body weight; BWG, body-weight gain; Hb A_1C, hemoglobin A1c; NEFA, non-esterified FA.