Table 4.
Effect of different probiotic strains on viruses.
| Probiotic strain | Target disease/virus | Mechanism of action |
|---|---|---|
| lactobacillus casei (yakult) (82) | Upper respiratory tract infection, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV) | Lowered plasma CMV and EBV immunoglobulin titers |
| lactococcus lactis jcm5805 (l. lactis plasma) (83) | Influenza | Reduction in the duration of cough and sore throat Increment in IFN-α mRNA in PBMCs |
| lactobacillus rhamnosus gg (84) | Rhinovirus infection | Slight reduction in the incidence and severity of cold symptoms |
| l. plantarum 06cc2 (3) | IFV A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Decrease in body weight, virus count in lungs and number of macrophages and neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), TNF-α in BALF, INF-α, IL-12, and IFN-γ Increase in activity of NK cell, IFN-γ in Peyer's patches and survival of mice |
| l. plantarum ncimb 8826 (85) | Pneumonia virus of mice (J3666) | Enhanced protection against virus infection Decrease in Granulocyte recruitment, CXCL10, CXCL1, CCL2, TNF, and virus recovery |
| l. reuteri f275 (86) | Pneumonia virus of mice (J3666) | Increase in neutrophil deployment, CXCL1, CCL2, CCL3, CXCL10, TNF-α, IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-γ, and IL17A |
| Enterococcus faecalis fk-23 (87) | Hepatitis C virus | Significant reduction in alanine aminotransferase No significant difference in viral load |
| Bifidobacterium animalis (bb12) (88) | Intestinal Ig responses to rota and polio- virus in infants | Evident increment in fecal anti-poliovirus and anti-rotavirus specific IgA. |
Probiotics depict the ability to regulate and modulate the immune system. Some probiotic strains have shown an effective antiviral activity including respiratory viruses. However, the mechanism of action against viruses differs from one probiotic strain to another.