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Lactobacillus Plantarum 299v Reduces Irritable Bowel Bloating

Lactobacillus plantarum 299v decreases abdominal bloating in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Swedish researchers from Lund University in Lund note that lactic acid fermentation is the simplest and safest way to preserve food. They suggest that people have likely always used it in food preservation.

Various species, such as L plantarum, L rhamnosus, L paracasei, L acidophilus and L salivarius, occur in human mucosa from the mouth to the rectum.

Investigators point out that L plantarum is found in foods that are fermented from plants, while L paracasei and L rhamnosus are associated with dairy products.

They explain that L plantarum 299v is a strain originating from the human intestinal mucosa. Animal research has shown that it decreases translocation and improves mucosal and liver status. It also improves the immunological status of mucosa and reduces mucosal inflammation.

In people, L plantarum 299v increases the concentration of carboxylic acids in feces and decreases abdominal bloating in patients with IBS. It can also decrease fibrinogen concentrations in the blood.

Investigators note that a probiotic food product that contains no milk constituent was launched in Sweden in 1994. This product -- a lactic acid-fermented oatmeal gruel mixed with a fruit drink -- contains approximately 5 x 10⁽¹⁰⁾ colony-forming units of L plantarum 299v.

"Should probiotics be administered through foods," the researchers point out, "the probiotic organism must remain vigorous in the food until consumption, and the food must remain palatable."

They add that L plantarum 299v affects both the bacterial flora of the intestinal mucosa and regulates the host's immunologic defence.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2001; 73: 380S-385S.

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