Table 5.

Human in vivo studies that have included studies of intestinal barrier function in diseases/models associated with increased permeability

Human Studies with Probiotics Including Intestinal Permeability/Barrier
Probiotic (ref.)	Study Design	# Participants, Treatment Duration	Effect on Permeability	Other Effects
Viable vs. sonicated probiotics (89)	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-control trial	28 critically ill patients; 7 days	No significant difference in intestinal permeability measured by lactulose: mannitol ratio
Bifidobacterium adolescentis IVS-1 vs. B. lactis BB12, + GOS prebiotic, 6 treatment arms (90)	Aspirin challenge; randomized, double-blind, lactose control trial	94 obese (BMI 30-40) patients; 3 weeks	Bifidobacterium IVS-1 but not B. lactis BB-12 reduced permeability (sucralose:lactulose ratio); GOS prebiotic also effective alone	No synergistic effect between prebiotic and probiotic
L. plantarum WCFS1, CIP104448, TIFN101 or placebo (91)	Indomethacin stressor; Double-blind, placebo-control, 4-way crossover trial	10 healthy; 7-day oral treatments with 4-week washouts between each	Indomethacin increased lactulose:rhamnose ratio; no difference between baseline and on treatment lactulose:rhamnose ratio for any treatment vs. placebo	Integrin pathway and Actinin α4 gene upregulated by L.plantarum TIFN 101; Claudin 5 gene downregulated by L.plantarum WCFS1; Claudin 19 gene downregulated by L.plantarum CIP48
3-wk kefir supplementation compared with 3-wk milk supplementation (92)	Crossover intervention study	28 overweight asymptomatic adults	Greater improvement on serum zonulin levels with kefir	Similar improvement in lipid profile and serum glucose with both supplementations. CRP, adiponectin, and appetite unaffected.

CRP=C-reactive protein; GOS=galacto-oligosaccharides