Probi probiotics improve newborns’ microbiota, R&D director points to immunity and celiac suppression potential

01 Sep 2021 --- Swedish probiotics company Probi is reporting that two of its probiotic strains – Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HEAL9 and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus 271 – are well tolerated in newborns’ gut microbiomes.

The Nature-published study showed supplementing with the strains increased infants’ levels of lactobacilli in the intestine and their microbiota was positively affected by the intake of the probiotics.

“Different studies have suggested that it could be advantageous to influence the microbiome early on by giving infants probiotic bacteria,” Probi R&D director Dr. Titti Niskanen tells NutritionInsight.

“If we focus on the immune health area, there is a large, unmet need for treatment and autoimmunity prevention. Probiotics are a promising strategy for the latter,” she emphasizes. 

First of its kind?
Probi asserts this is one of the first tolerance studies with both a L. plantarum strain and a L. rhamnosus strain on a newborn population. 

Notably, L. plantarum had not previously been studied in an infant population so young: The youngest baby in the study was recruited at four days of age and started consuming probiotics 11 days after birth.

In the eight week study, 32 healthy infants up to 83 days old were evenly split into two groups, one given both a daily supplementation of L. plantarum and L. rhamnosus at 109 colony-forming units, the other a placebo. 

The fecal levels of L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus and lactobacilli increased after the intake of probiotics and were significantly higher in contrast to the placebo group after four and eight weeks of intake. However, the fecal microbial diversity was similar in the two groups at the end of the study.

Percentage of children with detectable levels of different bacteria in their feces at the start and after four and eight weeks of taking probiotics or placebo (*p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001).Getting to know L. plantarum anew
Niskanen underscores the study findings were not entirely surprising, considering her research team had tested them earlier in adults without any signs of adverse effects.

Moreover, L. rhamnosus strains have long been used as probiotics for infants and children in a wide range of different probiotic products, marketed in many countries. 

The study authors write the probiotic intervention was well tolerated and increased the level of lactobacilli in the intestine.“L. rhamnosus 271 has, in a pilot trial, been shown to down-regulate the cell-mediated immunity in adults and animal studies to reduce bacterial translocation, making it interesting to include in a product for infants,” Niskanen reveals.

However, L. plantarum is a species that is less frequently researched in infant nutrition. 

“Even though L. plantarum is a species that seldom has been analyzed in newborns, it could be detected in 25 percent of the subjects before administration – with a mean age of 41 days,” Niskanen explains. 

This is a higher figure compared to an earlier trial and may point towards the importance of L. plantarum in infants’ development of their gut microbiota. 

Furthermore, the study suggests that the two strains might have immune-supporting effects. 

“None of the newborns in the probiotic group experienced an upper respiratory tract infection, while four of sixteen in the placebo group suffered from an infection during the study,” Niskanen adds.

Potentially also targeting celiac disease
Infants are born with a low microbial content of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which might be susceptible to distress. 

“More research is needed to better understand the composition of a healthy microbiome that will support our health throughout life,” says Niskanen.Over time, they develop the microbiota that will help them build a barrier in their GI tract, gain a stronger immune system and prevent infections. 

Here, probiotic intake may also help reduce the risk of infants developing celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases, as well as GI infections in the long run. 

Probi is particularly interested in its L. plantarum HEAL 9’s relation to celiac disease. 

In a previous study, it had suppressed celiac autoimmunity in children genetically predisposed for gluten intolerance together with one of its proprietary L. paracasei strains. 

“Celiac disease affects up to 3 percent of the population and currently the introduction of a lifelong gluten-free diet is the only available treatment,” Niskanen outlines. She concludes it would be “very rewarding” to develop preventive, probiotic products that could change this in the future.

NutritionInsight recently reported how the infant nutrition space is becoming more specialized, with conditions like allergies and anxiety driving diversified options. Personalization and regional considerations also constitute key elements of narrowing the gap between infant formula and breast milk. 

By Anni Schleicher