Table 1.
Example of studies designed to determine effects of probiotics on gut microbiota and immune function.
| Subjects | Substrates | Dose | Duration | Results | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66 healthy infants | Infant formulas (Bifidobacterium infantis R0033, B. bifidum R0071, and Lactobacillus helveticus R0052) | Feeding >80% of daily food | 4 weeks | High levels of faecal sIgA, suggesting a positive effect of probiotics on sIgA production | (9) |
| 120 children | Bifidobaeterium tetravaccine tablets (B. infantis, L. acidophilus, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus cereus) | 3 tablets/12 h | 2 months | The number of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus was significantly higher | (11) |
| 35 C57BL/6 mice | Probiotic cocktail Bifico (B. longum, L. acidophilus, Enterococcus faecalis) | 1.2 × 107 CFU/d | 9 weeks | Bifico decreased the abundance of genera Desulfovibrio, Mucispirillum, and Odoribacter, and a bloom of genus Lactobacillus was detected | (12) |
| 30 6-week-old db/db mice | Saccharomyces boulardii Biocodex | 120 mg/d | 4 weeks | Significantly change the gut microbiota composition with an increased abundance of Bacteroidetes and a decreased abundance of the phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes | (13) |
| 80 elderly people | B. lactis HN019 | 5 × 109 CFU/d, 1.0 × 109 CFU/d, and 6.5 × 107 CFU/d | 4 weeks | All the three doses caused a significant increase in Bifidobacteria, lactobacilli and enterococci and a decrease in Enterobacteriaceae | (14) |
| 20 healthy Italian volunteers | B. longum BB536, L. rhamnosus HN001 | 4 × 109 CFU/d | 4 weeks | A higher abundance of Blautia producta, Blautia wexlerae and Haemophilus ducrey was observed, together with a reduction of Holdemania filiformis, Escherichia vulneris, Gemmiger formicilis and Streptococcus sinensis abundance | (15) |
| Macrophages derived from monocytes | L. rhamnosus GG, L. rhamnosus KLSD, L. helveticus IMAU70129, and L. casei IMAU60214 | 108 CFU/mL/d | 24 h | Improve the phagocytosis and bactericidal activity such as S. aureus, S. typhimurium, and E. coli (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi-murium, E. coli) | (16) |
| 20 Balb/c mice | L. gasseri SBT2055 (LG2055) | 1.0 × 109 CFU/g | 5 weeks | An increased production of IgA and numbers of IgA+ cells in Peyer's patches and lamina propria | (17) |
| 30 BALB/c mice | L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. reuteri, B. bifidium, and Streptococcus thermophilus | 5 × 108 CFU/d | 20 days | Increased numbers of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, and decrease numbers of Th 1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines | (18) |
| 44 healthy adults | B. animalis | 109CFU/d | 21 days | Probiotic combined with xylo-oligosaccharide could reduce the expression of CD19 | (19) |
| 47 healthy women | Total bacteria in human milk | 1.5 to 4.0 log10CFU/mL | 24 h | No potential probiotics were found to antagonise pathogens, but they all agglutinate different pathogens | (20) |
| 20 BALB/c mices | Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria | 5 × 10 9 CFU/mL/d | 6 days | Blocking autophagy in vitro reduces the IL-10 and exacerbates the secretion of IL-1β | (21) |
| 66 adult males | B. bifidum and L. plantarum | Bifidobacteria: 7.5 log CFU/g/d Lactobacilli: 4.59 log CFU/g/d | 1 week | Lactobacillus and Enterococcus significantly increased from day 1 to day 7 | (22) |
| 180 people | Streptococcus thermophilus MG510 and L. plantarum LRCC5193 | Streptococcus thermophilus MG510: 3.0 × 108 CFU/g/d and L. plantarum LRCC5193: 1.0 × 108 CFU/g/d | 4 weeks | The relative abundance of L. plantarum remained higher in the probiotic group than in the placebo group at 8 weeks, no increment of Streptococcus thermophilus was observed in the faecal microbiota | (23) |
IgA, immunoglobulin A; sIgA, secretory immunoglobulin A; T cells, Tregs; Th 1, T helper; IL-10, interleukin 10.