Table 4.
Human intervention studies using fermented foods containing probiotic Lactobacillus and Lacticaseibacillus strains.
| Food matrix | Probiotic | Administered daily amount and duration of treatment | Food intake evaluation | Study design | Subjects main characteristics | Effects on gut microbiota | Gut microbiota analysis methods and microbial groups analyzed | Colonization evaluation | Persistence evaluation | Methods of analysis for colonization | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fermented milk (Control: acidified milk) | Lactobacillusaparacasei subsp. paracasei CNCM I-1518; L.a paracasei subsp. paracasei CNCM I-3689; L.a rhamnosus CNCM I-3690 | 1 × 109-1 × 1011 CFU (100 g) or 3 × 109-3 × 1011 CFU (300 g) for 4 weeks | No | Randomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled trial with 2 weeks pre-intervention washout and 4 weeks post-intervention washout (n = 96, 49 treated and 47 placebo) | German healthy adults (44 men and 52 women); age range 18–55 years | Modest modifications. Probiotic strains were detected only during consumption period, and at a significantly higher level in subjects who consumed 300 g/day | 16S rRNA based metagenomics: V3–V4 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene and whole genome shotgun metagenomics (All microbial groups) | Yes | Yes | qPCR with strain-specific primers | (44) |
| Yogurt | L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus K98 | 500 g containing 6.5 × 109 CFU for 2 weeks | No | Before/After trial with 1 week pre-intervention washout (n = 20) | Spanish healthy adults (5 men and 15 women); mean age 30 ± 5 years | Increased LAB and Clostridium perfringens; decreased Bacteroides-Prevotella-Porphyromonas. Viable L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus K98 detected in only one volunteer |
DGGE for Lactobacillus genus. qPCR for Bacteroides-Prevotella-Porphyromonas group, the Clostridium coccoides group, the Clostridium perfringens group, and species-specific assays for Bacteroides vulgatus | Yes | No | Isolation on MRS plates, followed by qPCR at species level, and finally identification by 16S rDNA sequencing | (45) |
| Yogurt | L. johnsonii 456 | 100 g containing 1 × 1010 CFU for 7 days | No | Before/After trial with 2 months post-intervention washout (n = 11) | American healthy adults | Not analyzed (except viable LAB by colony counting). Recovery of L. johnsonii 456 and persistence after washout |
nd | Yes | Yes | qPCR with strain-specific primers | (46) |
| Yogurt (Control: acidified milk) | L.arhamnosus GG (LGG) | 400 g containing 1.2 × 109 CFU for 2 weeks | No | Randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled cross-over trial with 4 weeks pre-intervention washout, 3 weeks washout and 3 weeks post-intervention washout (n = 14, 7 treated and 7 placebo) | Swiss healthy men; age range 18–40 years | Increased S. thermophilus, L. delbrueckii subp. bulgaricus and Intestinibacter bartlettii; decreased Bifidobacteria. No significant increase of LGG |
16S rRNA based metagenomics: V3–V4 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene (All bacteria) | Yes | Yes | Inferred from NGS data. Species-level | (47) |
| Fermented milk (Control: pasteurized acidified milk) | LGG and L. gasseri TMC0356 | 110 g containing 1.5 × 1010 CFU LGG and 1.1 × 109 CFU L. gasseri TMC0356, for 10 weeks | No | Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (n = 25, 14 treated and 11 placebo) | Japanese adults with Japanese cedar Cryptomeria japonica pollinosis (9 men and 16 women); age range 36.9 ± 6.9 years for treated and 36.5 ± 6.1 years for placebo |
Decreased Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio; decreased Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, Prevotella and Oscillospira; increased Collinsella, Lactobacillus, Blautia and Ruminococcus. Detection of LGG at the end of the supplementation |
16S rRNA based metagenomics: V4-V5 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene (All bacteria) and qPCR (LGG, L.a casei, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, S. aureus NUC, and A. muciniphila) | Yes (only for LGG) | No | qPCR at species level | (48) |
| Fermented milk (Control: fermented milk with Streptococcus thermophilus) | L. johnsonii La1 | 120 g containing 1 × 109 CFU for 21 days | No | Double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over trial with 21 days pre-intervention washout and 28 days washout (n = 22, 11 treated and 11 placebo) | Japanese healthy young women; age range 20–22 years | Increased Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus; decreased lecithinase-positive Clostridium. Detection of viable L. johnsonii La1 during the test, no persistence after the end of supplementation |
Culture-dependent method: total bacteria, total anaerobes, total aerobes, Bacteriodaceae, Bifidobacteria, Clostridia, Lactobacilli, Stroptococci, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, Bacilli, Yeasts | Yes | Yes | Isolation on MRS plates, followed by identification of L. johnsonii La1 with RAPD-PCR. Strain level | (49) |
| Fermented milk | L.acasei DN-114 001 | 300 g containing 3 × 108 CFU, for 10 days | No | Before/After trial with 7 days pre-intervention washout and 10 days post-intervention washout (n = 12) | French healthy adults (7 women and 5 men); age range 23–44 years | No significant differences. Recovery of L.a casei DN-114 001 during supplementation, but not after washout |
TTGE (Bifidobacterium; Lactobacillus–Pediococcus–Leuconostoc–Weissella) | Yes | Yes | qPCR using L.a paracasei group-specific primers and Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Species-level | (50) |
| Fermented milk | L.acasei DN-114 001 | 300 g containing 3 × 108 CFU for 8 days | No | Before/After trial with 7 days pre-intervention washout and 7 days post-intervention washout (n = 7) | French healthy adults (6 men and 1 woman); age range 22–38 years | No significant differences. Recovery of L.a casei DN-114 001 in feces, where it persisted 3 days after the end of the ingestion | TTGE: Lactobacillus; Pediococcus; Leuconostoc; Weissella; FISH: Atopobium; Bacteroides; Prevotella; Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium coccoides; Enterobacteria; Lactobacillus-Enterococcus; Streptococcus-Lactococcus | Yes | Yes | qPCR using L.a paracasei group-specific primers. Species-level | (51) |
| Fermented milk (Control: pasteurized yogurt) | L.aparacasei A | 100 g containing 1 × 1010 CFU for 4 weeks | No | Randomized, parallel and placebo controlled trial with 1 week post-intervention washout (n = 26, 13 treated and 13 placebo) | Italian healthy children; age range 12–24 months | Increased lactobacilli. Viable L.a paracasei A detected after 1 week of consumption |
Counts on selective agar media for Clostridia, Bifidobacteria, Total aerobes, Total anaerobes, Enterococci, Bacteroides, Enterobacteria, Lactobacilli. DGGE (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) | Yes | Yes | Isolation on MRS-Van plates, followed by PCR amplification with strain-specific primers. Strain-level | (52) |
a
Recently renamed Lacticaseibacillus.