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Independent and Interactive Effects of Habitually Ingesting Fermented Milk Products Containing Lactobacillus casei Strain Shirota and of Engaging in Moderate Habitual Daily Physical Activity on the Intestinal Health of Older People.

ABSTRACT: Infrequent bowel movements decrease the number of beneficial bacteria in the human intestines, thereby potentially increasing the individual's risk of colorectal cancer. The correction of such bowel problems could therefore make an important contribution to improving population health and quality-adjusted lifespan. We examined independent and interactive effects upon the fecal microbiota of two potentially favorable determinants of intestinal motility: the intake frequency of a fermented milk product containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) and the quantity/quality of habitual physical activity in 338 community-living Japanese aged 65-92 years. Subjects were arbitrarily grouped on the basis of questionnaire estimates of LcS intake (0-2, 3-5, and 6-7 days/week) and pedometer/accelerometer-determined patterns of physical activity [<7000 and ≥7000 steps/day, or <15 and ≥15 min/day of activity at an intensity >3 metabolic equivalents (METs)]. After adjustment for potential confounders, the respective numbers of various beneficial fecal bacteria tended to be larger in more frequent consumers of LcS-containing products, this trend being statistically significant (mostly P < 0.001) for total Lactobacillus, the Lactobacillus casei subgroup, and the Atopobium cluster; in contrast, there were no statistically significant differences in fecal bacterial counts between the physical activity groups. A multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analysis estimated that the risk of infrequent bowel movements (arbitrarily defined as defecating ≤3 days/week) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in subjects who ingested LcS-containing products 6-7 rather than 0-2 days/week [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.382 (0.149-0.974)] and was also lower in those who took ≥7000 rather than <7000 steps/day [0.441 (0.201-0.971)] or spent ≥15 rather than <15 min/day of physical activity at an intensity >3 METs [0.412 (0.183-0.929)]. The risk of infrequent bowel movements in subjects who combined 6-7 days/week of LcS with ≥7000 steps/day or ≥15 min/day of activity at >3 METs was only a tenth of that for individuals who combined 0-2 days/week of LcS with <7000 steps/day or <15 min/day at >3 METs. These results suggest that elderly individuals can usefully ingest LcS-containing supplements regularly (≥6 days/week) and also engage in moderate habitual physical activity (≥7000 steps/day and/or ≥15 min/day at >3 METs) in order to enhance their gastrointestinal health.

SUBMITTER: Aoyagi Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6684969 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:UnlabelledStress-induced abdominal dysfunction is an attractive target for probiotics. To investigate the effects of the probiotic Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota on abdominal dysfunction, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted with healthy medical students undertaking an authorized nationwide examination for academic advancement. For 8 weeks, until the day before the examination, 23 and 24 subjects consumed an L. casei strain Shirota-fermented milk and a placebo milk daily, respectively. In addition to assessments of abdominal symptoms, psychophysical state, and salivary stress markers, gene expression changes in peripheral blood leukocytes and composition of the gut microbiota were analyzed using DNA microarray analysis and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence analysis, respectively, before and after the intervention. Stress-induced increases in a visual analog scale measuring feelings of stress, the total score of abdominal dysfunction, and the number of genes with changes in expression of more than 2-fold in leukocytes were significantly suppressed in the L. casei strain Shirota group compared with those in the placebo group. A significant increase in salivary cortisol levels before the examination was observed only in the placebo group. The administration of L. casei strain Shirota, but not placebo, significantly reduced gastrointestinal symptoms. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing demonstrated that the L. casei strain Shirota group had significantly higher numbers of species, a marker of the alpha-diversity index, in their gut microbiota and a significantly lower percentage of Bacteroidaceae than the placebo group. Our findings indicate that the daily consumption of probiotics, such as L. casei strain Shirota, preserves the diversity of the gut microbiota and may relieve stress-associated responses of abdominal dysfunction in healthy subjects exposed to stressful situations.ImportanceA novel clinical trial was conducted with healthy medical students under examination stress conditions. It was demonstrated that the daily consumption of lactic acid bacteria provided health benefits to prevent the onset of stress-associated abdominal symptoms and a good change of gut microbiota in healthy medical students.

Project description:BACKGROUND:In the past decade, the use of probiotic-containing products has been explored as a potential alternative in oral health therapy. A widely available probiotic drink, Yakult, was evaluated for oral health applications in this longitudinal study. Selected oral health parameters, such as levels and composition of salivary and tongue plaque microbiota and of malodorous gases, in dentate healthy individuals were investigated for changes. The persistence of the probiotic strain in the oral cavity was monitored throughout the study period. METHODS:A three-phase study (7 weeks) was designed to investigate simultaneously the effect of 4-week consumption of the probiotic-containing milk drink Yakult on the microbiota of saliva and dorsum tongue coating in healthy dentate people (n = 22) and levels of volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) in morning breath. Study phases comprised one baseline visit, at which 'control' levels of oral parameters were obtained prior to the probiotic product consumption; a 4-week period of daily consumption of one 65 ml bottle of Yakult, each bottle containing a minimum of 6.5×10(9) viable cells of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS); and a 2-week washout period. The microbial viability and composition of saliva and tongue dorsum coating were assessed using a range of solid media. The presence of LcS in the oral cavity was investigated using a novel selective medium, 'LcS Select'. Portable sulphur monitors Halimeter(®) and OralChroma(TM) were used to measure levels of VSCs in morning breath. RESULTS:Utilization of the LcS Select medium revealed a significant (p < 0.05) but temporary and consumption-dependent presence of LcS in saliva and tongue plaque samples from healthy dentate individuals (n = 19) during the probiotic intervention phase. LcS was undetectable with culture after 2 weeks of ceasing its consumption. Morning breath scores measured with Halimeter and OralChroma were not significantly affected throughout the trial, except in a small number of individual cases where Halimeter scores were significantly reduced during the probiotic intervention period. Natural fluctuations in resident acidogenic populations, and numbers of Candida and anaerobic species, including malodourous Gram-negative anaerobes, were unaffected. CONCLUSION:While no broad ecological changes in the mouth were induced by consumption of Yakult in healthy dentate individuals, findings of this study confirm the temporary and intake-dependent presence of LcS. Future studies could focus on subjects at greater risk of oral infection, where ill-defined microbiota (e.g. an increased presence of periopathogens) or clinically diagnosed halitosis might be significantly affected by consumption of this probiotic.

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Independent and Interactive Effects of Habitually Ingesting Fermented Milk Products Containing Lactobacillus casei Strain Shirota and of Engaging in Moderate Habitual Daily Physical Activity on the Intestinal Health of Older People.

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