Not All Probiotics are Effective against Acute Diarrhea

Filed in archive Studies , Treatment on August 12, 2007

Despite the marketing claims, not all probiotic product preparations are effective treatment against acute diarrhea in children - said a new study published in the British Medical Journal.

Probiotics are microorganisms that once colonized in the bowel exert beneficial effects to human health and are commercially available as dietary supplements or incorporated in food products like yoghurt, milk and the likes.

Diarrhea on the other hand is a condition when one has loose, watery stool lasting a few days (at times accompanied by vomiting, nausea and abdominal cramps) that is caused frequently by infections from viruses, bacteria or parasites and sometimes from antibiotics or artificial sweeteners.

In this particular study, conducted by a team from University of Naples, five preparations of probiotics were tested on children with acute diarrhea and found that not all are effective. Only those who received Lactobacillus GG (already previously found effective) benefited, while those that received a preparation of Saccharomyces boulardii and three others were unexpectedly not effective.

The study's authors concluded that: the efficacy of probiotic preparations for the treatment of acute diarrhoea in children is related to the individual strains of bacteria, and physicians should choose preparations based on effectiveness data.

Source: British Medical Journal via Science Daily

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