Obesity in cats is associated with metabolic abnormalities and increased susceptibility to diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Studies in mouse models and human beings have shown that probiotics can reduce food intake, promote weight loss and improve metabolic profile. Studies assessing the effects of probiotics on these same parameters are absent in cats. Therefore, the aim of this study was t...

industrially important microorganisms used for the production of various fermented foods. Recently, probiotic lactic acid bacteria defined as “living microorganisms that benefit the health of the host by conditioning the intestinal environment” have attracted the attention of many scientists, and began to be applied in the dairy industry. For example, the intake of fermented milk containing pro...

OBJECTIVE The goal was to test the hypothesis that oral administration of Lactobacillus reuteri in a prospective randomized study would improve symptoms of infantile colic. METHODS Ninety breastfed colicky infants were assigned randomly to receive either the probiotic L. reuteri (10(8) live bacteria per day) or simethicone (60 mg/day) each day for 28 days. The mothers avoided cow's milk in th...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the leading cause of death from gastrointestinal disease in premature infants and develops partly from an exaggerated intestinal epithelial immune response to indigenous microbes. There has been interest in administering probiotic bacteria to reduce NEC severity, yet concerns exist regarding infection risk. Mechanisms of probiotic activity in NEC are unknown a...

Background and Aim. The efficacy of supplementation treatment with two multispecies probiotic formulates on subjects diagnosed with IBS-C and the assessment of their gut microbiota were investigated. Methods. A randomized, double-blind, three-arm parallel group trial was carried out on 150 IBS-C subjects divided into three groups (F_1, F_2, and F_3). Each group received a daily oral administrat...

The effects of probiotics on horses are still controversial. The present study was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study designed to evaluate the ability of probiotics to improve intestinal conditions in adult horses. Fermented probiotics were administered to 10 healthy adult geldings for 28 days. The clinical condition of the horses was monitored daily, and the blood...

OBJECTIVE Various lines of evidence suggest that malfunctioning of the gut-liver axis contributes to hepatic damage of rodents and humans with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We evaluated the effects of short-term probiotic treatment in children with obesity-related liver disease who were noncompliant with lifestyle interventions. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty obese children (age 10.7 ± 2.1 y...

BACKGROUND Bacterial vaginosis is a condition of unknown etiology, associated with an imbalance of the normal vaginal microbiota, characterized by a high recurrence rate despite of classical therapy solutions. Probiotics are microorganisms, which taken in adequate amounts, are proven to bring health benefits in human and animal bodies, by re-establishing the normal flora at different levels. ...

The effect of orally administered Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG on the amount of plaque, gingival inflammation, oral microbiota and salivary mutans streptococci, as well as on levels of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP)-8, MMP-9, and of Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 in healthy adults was studied. The study was a randomized controlled...

Background: It was proposed that probiotics may influence immune system through direct or indirect exposure. Direct exposure is mostly mediated by surface receptors. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are conserved molecular sensors which could be triggered via some pathogen associated structures, hence, modulate the immune responses. This study was conducted to elucidate the impact of lactobacillus ac...