Effects of Synbiotic Supplementation on Gut Functioning and Systemic Inflammation of Community-Dwelling Elders - Secondary Analyses From a Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Aging is a complex process marked by alterations on gut functioning and physiology, accompanied by an increase on the inflammatory status, leading to a scenario called “inflammaging”. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a synbiotic substance on systemic inflammation, gut functioning of community-dwelling elders. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis from a randomized clinical trial, lasting 24 weeks, including 49 elders, distributed into two groups: SYN (n=25), which received a synbiotic substance (Frutooligossacaride 6g, Lactobacillus paracasei LPC-31 109 to 108 UFC, Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 109 to 108 UFC, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM 109 to 108 UFC e Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 109 to 108 UFC), or PLA (n=24), receiving placebo. The evaluations consisted of serum IL-10 e TNF-α (after overnight fasting), evaluation of chronic constipation (by Rome III Criteria) and faeces types (by Bristol Stool Form Scale). Data were compared before and after the supplementation time, and between groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between baseline and final values of serum inflammatory markers. Some subtle beneficial changes were observed in SYN, concerning both gut functioning and faeces types. CONCLUSION: From our data, synbiotic supplementation showed a subtle benefit in gut functioning in apparently healthy community-dwelling elders. Our findings can suggest that the benefits in healthy individuals were less expressive than the ones presented in studies with individuals previously diagnosed as dysbiosis. Future studies, comparing elders with and without gut dysbiosis can confirm our findings.

Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis HN019 Effects on Gut Health: A Review

“…It is important to note that PDX has been reported to positively influence stool consistency and bowel function (82). Other studies with B. lactis HN019 TM in combination with other probiotics or prebiotics observed improvements after intervention in bowel functions, such as shortened CTT (26), increased stool frequency and consistency (18,27), reduced flatulence symptoms (21). However, although Botelho et al observed a change in fecal microbiota composition, the study failed to observe a positive effect on bowel function as compared to the placebo group (19) (Table 1).…”

Intestinal bacteria flora changes in patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia with or without wheezing

“…For example, orally administered Lactobacillus , including Lactobacillus casei , Lactobacillus rhamnosus , Lactobacillus gasseri , Lactobacillus pentosus , Lactobacillus plantarum , Lactobacillus brevis , Lactobacillus johnsonii , Bifidobacterium breve 155 , and Bifidobacterium longum 180 , protected all the mice from influenza-virus-induced pathology and mortality. The main mechanisms include increased antibody production, enhanced natural killer cell activity, and increased IFN-γ and IL-10 by the probiotics 30 . This is consistent with the results obtained from our experiments.…”

Os efeitos do uso de antibióticos na microbiota intestinal

“…Os simbióticos são alimentos ou suplementos incluindo probióticos e prebióticos, o consumo desses ingredientes comprovados com os resultados de alguns estudos mostraram a capacidade de propiciar a estimulação seletiva da microbiota intestinal do hospedeiro e seu funcionamento, diminuindo a atrofia celular e reduzindo a permeabilidade intestinal pelo fortalecimento das junções fechadas e como resultado melhorando o intestino e seu funcionamento e estado inflamatório (Neto et al, 2020).…”