Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of lactobacilli strains in preventing the recurrences of vaginal candidiasis (VC) in 78 pregnant women with VC (lactobacilli, n = 39; placebo, n = 39) and the potential benefits on quality of life. Methods and Results The lactobacilli putative probiotic (SynForU‐HerCare; two capsules/day of 9·5 log CFU per capsule) or placebo was administered for 8‐weeks in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study. Subjects were assessed for vaginal and gut health conditions at baseline, week‐4 and week‐8 via questionnaires. The vulvovaginal symptom questionnaire not only covered aspects pertaining to vulvovaginal symptoms but also the quality of life impacts such as emotional, social and sexual. The administration of lactobacilli reduced symptoms of irritation (P = 0·023) and discharge (P = 0·011) starting week‐4 and continued after week‐8 (P < 0·05), accompanied by reduced symptoms for burning after week‐8 (P = 0·046) as compared to the placebo. Patients consuming lactobacilli also showed reduced concern about symptoms after week‐4 (P = 0·010) and continued after week‐8 (P = 0·001), accompanied by reduced impairment of daily activities attributed to vulvovaginal symptoms (P = 0·012) and continued after week‐8 (P = 0·026). Insignificant differences were observed for sexual impacts between treatment groups. The administration of lactobacilli also reduced recurrences of both emotional and social stress as compared to the placebo at both week‐4 and week‐8 (P < 0·05). Patients consuming lactobacilli showed higher defecation times per week at week‐4 (P = 0·010) and week‐8 (P = 0·001) as compared to the placebo group, indicating the potential to reduce risks of pregnancy‐induced constipation. Conclusions Lactobacilli probiotics are beneficial towards pregnant women, especially in reducing vulvovaginal symptoms and recurrences of VC, accompanied by improved emotional and social distress attributed to VC. Significance and Impact of the Study The study demonstrated the preventive and modulatory roles of lactobacilli strains against VC in pregnant women. Taken altogether, our present data illustrated that lactobacilli probiotics are beneficial towards pregnant women, especially in reducing vulvovaginal symptoms and recurrences of VC, accompanied by improved emotional and social distress attributed to VC, thus could be a potential strategy for the maintenance of vaginal health during pregnancy.

Purpose The development of probiotics has seen tremendous growth over the years, with health benefits ranging from gut health to respiratory. We thus aimed to investigate the effects of probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis Probio-M8 (2 × 10 10 log CFU/day) against acute respiratory tract infections (RTI), use of antibiotics, hospitalization period and elucidate the possible mechanisms of action in hospitalized young children. Method A prospective, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study was performed in RTI-hospitalized children. Patients were randomized to either the probiotic (n = 60, mean age 13.81 ± 0.90 months) or placebo (n = 60, mean age 12.11 ± 0.73 months) which were administered upon admission, continued during hospitalization and 4-week post-discharged. RTI and gut health parameters were assessed at these time points using validated questionnaires while concentrations of inflammatory cytokines were assessed via oral swabs. Results Probio-M8 reduced the duration of nasal, pharyngeal and general flu-like symptoms compared to the placebo during the hospitalization period and 4-week post-discharged (P < 0.05) as compared to the placebo, with a more prevalent effect against lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Probio-M8 reduced prescription of antibiotic (P = 0.037), prevented new prescription of antibiotic in non-prescribed patients (P = 0.024) and reduced hospitalization period in antibiotic-prescribed patients (P = 0.004) as compared to the placebo. Oral cytokine levels of TNF-α decreased in the Probio-M8 group (P = 0.001) accompanied by increased in IL-10 (P = 0.018) over 4-week post-discharged, while the placebo group did not exhibit such an effect. Increased IL-10 in the Probio-M8 group was correlated with decreased body ache (r = − 0.296, P = 0.001), headache (r = − 0.295, P = 0.001) and pain during swallow (r = − 0.235, P = 0.010). Conclusion Data from our present study show that B. lactis Probio-M8 could be a potential natural and non-drug strategy for the management of RTI in young children in a safe manner. Clinical trial registration Clinical studies (Approval No. USM/JEPeM/19030177) were registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier No. NCT04122495) on September 30, 2019.

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