Emerging Research on Probiotics An interview with Miguel Freitas, Scientific Affairs Manager, The Dannon Company

Welcome to the fifth edition of Probiotics: News You Can Use, a quarterly bulletin brought to you by the Dannon Probiotics Center.

New research is always emerging on the many health benefits of probiotics. Recently, The Fourth Danone International Convention on Probiotics, which took place in Paris, France, brought together more than 150 researchers from more than 20 countries to take stock of the progress in probiotics knowledge and share and review their research. Danone is the parent company of Dannon. Probiotics, meaning literally "for life," are living microorganisms, which upon ingestion in sufficient quantities provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.

"The findings presented build on decades of science focused on understanding the health benefits of probiotics," said Miguel Freitas, Ph.D., Scientific Affairs Manager at The Dannon Company, who helped to organize the meeting. "We are committed to pioneering innovations in clinical research. This is the only annual meeting of its kind aimed at advancing research on probiotics."

Research on probiotics is emerging rapidly. In fact, there have been more than 2,200 original articles on probiotics published since 2000, of which about 1,400 have been published since 2003. We caught up with Dr. Freitas to learn more about the high points of 2005 and 2006 that were shared at the convention.

1. Over the past few years, there have been new areas of research in probiotics. Could you tell us about the most recent studies?

There have been many interesting advances in the study of probiotics. Research highlighted at the Danone convention this year included emerging science on the role of probiotics in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), in the severity and extent of child atopic eczema, and how the intestinal flora, or bacteria that lives in your gut, impacts obesity, a major worldwide epidemic.

2. How can probiotics impact Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects an estimated 35 million Americans and millions more worldwide. The evidence presented at the Danone convention, by Robin C. Spiller, MD, Professor of Gastroenterology, Center for Digestive Diseases, Nottingham Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom and by Liam O’Mahony, MD, University College Cork Department of Medicine, Cork, Ireland, had encouraging results. Dr. Spiller reviewed findings reported on the potential of probiotic bacteria in an editorial published in the journal Gastroenterology in 2005. Dr. Spiller also highlighted several randomized clinical trials (treatments assigned at random and indistinguishable treatments) that tested the efficacy of probiotics and had yielded very encouraging results. Additionally, certain probiotics were also found to have an effect on the inflammation process and therefore, could have an impact on IBS.

3. How could the bacteria in our gut influence obesity?

Intestinal flora, or bacteria that lives in the gut, may have an impact on obesity. At the convention, Professor Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, Director, Center for Genome Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MS, and his team reported that mice born without any intestinal flora and maintained in a sterile environment without bacterial colonization of the digestive tract, ingest more food than ‘control’ mice with flora, but gain less weight. In mice, the flora thus appears to be involved in the constitution of fat mass. This finding affords new research prospects, particularly with regard to how probiotic bacteria may influence lipid and fat storage.

4. What is the evidence in favor of probiotic bacteria use in child atopic eczema?

Child atopic eczema is a common skin condition that affects about 10 percent of all infants and children. At the Danone convention, Stephanie Weston, MD, Telethon research fellow from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Western Australia, reported on the latest scientific evidence regarding probiotics and atopic eczema. Considerable evidence of the clinical effects of supplementation of certain probiotics now exists. In infants aged 6-18 months with moderate to severe atopic eczema, supplementation with particular strains of probiotics had an impact in the severity and extent of child atopic eczema.

5. What is the focus of research on probiotics moving forward?

To chart the course for future research about the efficacy of probiotics, four workshops at the convention were conducted with respect to areas such as childhood immunity and gastrointestinal disorders. A workshop about childhood immunity explored probiotic actions, particularly with respect to allergies and diarrhea, and their effect on the mortality rate among low-birth weight neonates - or even premature neonates - associated with necrotizing enterocolitis, a serious and frequent complication in these newborns. The session about gastrointestinal diseases evaluated the understanding of the hereditary origin of irritable bowel syndrome and the effect of probiotic bacteria on IBS.

6. How can I incorporate probiotics in my diet?

Benefits of probiotics vary, depending on the strain of probiotic bacteria used, the activity of the strain, the quantity consumed and how they are delivered. Probiotics must be identified, food-grade and alive in adequate amounts at the time of ingestion. In addition, research shows that probiotic cultures that survive and are active in the human gastrointestinal tract confer the most benefits. The Dannon Company recently introduced Activia®, the first and only probiotic lowfat yogurt available in the United States that is clinically proven to help naturally regulate the digestive system in two weeks when eaten daily, as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Activia is scientifically proven to help with slow intestinal transit. Activia is the only lowfat yogurt with the special probiotic culture Bifidus Regularis™ and combines great taste with a clinically demonstrated functional benefit. In select markets and at natural food stores nationwide, Dannon also sells DanActive™, a probiotic cultured dairy drink that is clinically proven to help naturally strengthen your body's defenses. In addition to containing S. thermophilius and L. bulgaricus, DanActive contains a proprietary strain, L. casei Defensis™.