Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Oligofructose MegaEl-Dena For patients with Duodenal Ulcer & Gastric Symptoms | Vitaminized. Best place to buy supplements and vitamins

BENEFITS OF TAKING MEGAEL-DENA FOR PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC AND DUODENAL ULCERS ASSOCIATED WITH HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION

Many bacteria inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract are beneficial [1]; their important function is to protect the host from invasion by pathogenic microorganisms, either by direct competition or via immunomodulation [2,3]. However, some of these bacteria may be harmful. Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium of the Proteobacteria phylum that predominantly colonizes the stomach and induces inflammation. Overall, H. pylori is considered a harmful bacterium because its presence is a major risk factor for such diseases as gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, some cancers, and some cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases although at least some H. pylori strains protect from gastroesophageal reflux disease and esophageal adenocarcinoma and may also indirectly protect from asthma [4,5]. H. pylori infection often occurs in early childhood from infected mothers [6].

 

The prevalence of H. pylori infection increases with age and eventually reaches 70–90%; this increase is more rapid in developing than in developed countries [7]. Antibiotic therapy (usually a combination of different antibiotics) is used to eradicate H. pylori [5]. Although antibiotics are intended to kill pathogenic bacteria, they reduce the total number of bacteria and cause changes in microbiota composition [8]. These changes can be counteracted by taking probiotics, beneficial bacteria that normally inhabit the gastrointestinal tract and, when taken in adequate amounts, may help to restore normal microbiota [9]. MegaEl-Dena contains 8 species of viable beneficial bacteria: 4 species of Bifidobacterium (B. bifidum, B. breve, B. lactis, and B. longum), 3 species of Lactobacillus (L. acidophilus, L. casei, and L. rhamnosus), and Streptococcus thermophilus.

 

A number of studies on the use of probiotics in subjects infected with H. pylori have addressed two major aspects: [1] the effect of probiotics on H. pyloribacterial load (with or without antibiotic therapy) and [2] the efficiency of probiotics in reducing the side effects of antibiotic therapy.

 

A study conducted in Taiwan, which included 70 H. pylori-positive volunteers, found that the group that consumed yogurt containing L. acidophilus and B. lactisfor 6 weeks had reduced H. pylori bacterial loads (without any antibiotic therapy) in comparison with the placebo group [10]. Moreover, the authors demonstrated that B. lactis but not L. acidophilus inhibited the growth of H. pylori in vitro. The results of some clinical studies corroborate these in vitro data and are consistent with a higher efficiency of Bifidobacterium species than Lactobacillus species in helping to eradicate H. pylori. A later Taiwanese study, which involved 38 children with H. pylori infection and 38 age- and sex-matched non-infected control subjects, found that infected children had reduced Bifidobacterium spp. counts, whereas consumption of Bifidobacterium spp.–containing yogurt for 4 weeks helped to reduce the H. pylori load and increase the Bifidobacterium spp./Escherichia coli ratio [11]. Furthermore, consumption of Bifidobacterium-containing yogurt was associated with an increase in the levels of serum IgA and reduction of those of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6, [11] suggesting immunostimulatory and anti-inflammatory effects [11]. Conversely, a Polish study that involved 83 children with H. pylori infection undergoing eradication therapy with antibiotics amoxicillin and clarithromycinconcluded that supplementation with L. rhamnosus had no significant effect on the eradication rate or therapy-related adverse effects [12]. However, a meta-analysis of 33 clinical studies (4,459 patients in total) on the association between the intake of probiotics and the success of eradication of H. pylori infection concluded that four species (two of which, L. acidophilus and L. casei, are MegaEl-Dena components) are associated with a higher success rate [13].

 

A Brazilian study that enrolled 107 H. pylori-infected patients with peptic ulcer or functional dyspepsia who underwent antibiotic therapy (furazolidone, tetracycline, and lansoprazole) found no difference in the H. pylori eradication rate between the group receiving placebo and the group receiving a probiotic (L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, B. bifidum, and Streptococcus faecium) [14]. Although the probiotic tended to reduce the rate of therapy-related adverse effects, the difference between the probiotic and placebo groups did not reach statistical significance [14]. As the rate of H. pylori eradication in this study reached 80–90%, the apparent absence of the effect of probiotics might be due to a masking effect of efficient antibiotic therapy.

 

A double-blind placebo-controlled study conducted in Cambridge, UK that involved 162 patients treated with antibiotics found that supplementation with a combination of two strains of L. acidophilus and two strains of Bifidobacterium during and after antibiotic therapy alleviated the antibiotic-induced disruption of the intestinal microbiota [15]. Supplementation with probiotics was also found to counteract the increase in the incidence of antibiotic resistance of enterococci after antibiotic therapy [15], although the probiotic strains used were antibiotic-sensitive. A possible effect of probiotics on H. pylori eradication by antibiotics was not assessed in this study.

 

One of the largest studies on the effect of probiotics in patients with H. pylori infection, conducted in South Korea, involved 347 H. pylori-infected patients undergoing triple therapy (proton pump inhibitor, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin) reported that taking a yogurt containing L. acidophilus, L. casei, B. longum, andS. thermophilus (all 4 species are MegaEl-Dena components) was associated with an increase in the H. pylori eradication rate; this effect reached statistical significance in one of the two types of data analysis used [16].

 

A recent meta-analysis of ten clinical trials of supplementation with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species in subjects infected with H. pylori (1,469 participants in total) concluded that intake of probiotics has beneficial effects on the eradication rate and is associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of side effects of antibiotic therapy [17]. Similarly, a meta-analysis of 34 randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trials (4,138 patients in total) found that the pooled relative risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by H. pylori infection treatment was reduced on average by almost 2/3 by probiotic supplementation [18].

 

Overall, most studies have reported that supplementation with probiotic bacteria that are included in MegaEl-Dena (L. acidophilus, L. casei, B. lactis, and possibly also B. longum and S. thermophilus) have beneficial effects in patients undergoing H. pylori eradication therapy in terms of reducing the H. pylori bacterial load and/or alleviating the side effects of antibiotic therapy, although the optimal combinations of particular probiotics and antibiotics remain to be determined.

 

Crohn's disease

A distinct, non-infectious type of inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract is found in patients with Crohn's disease, which is primarily an autoimmune disorder characterized by patchy transmural inflammation that may involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract [19] and may be triggered by an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria [20]. Several studies attempted using Lactobacillus species in patients with Crohn's disease but most of them found no effect on the maintenance of remission (reviewed by Isaacs and Herfarth [21] and Haller and colleagues [22]). It has been suggested that deficiencies in particular species of Firmicutes (such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) rather than Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus could play a role in Crohn’s disease [23]. This might explain the lack of the effect of Lactobacillus-based probiotics and indicate that development of different probiotic formulations may be needed for patients with Crohn’s disease.

 

References

  1. Tancrede, C. Role of human microflora in health and disease. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 11, 1012-1015 (1992).
  2. Kelly, D., Conway, S. & Aminov, R. Commensal gut bacteria: mechanisms of immune modulation. Trends Immunol 26, 326-333 (2005).
  3. Round, J.L. & Mazmanian, S.K. The gut microbiota shapes intestinal immune responses during health and disease. Nat Rev Immunol 9, 313-323 (2009).
  4. Blaser, M.J. Who are we? Indigenous microbes and the ecology of human diseases. EMBO Rep 7, 956-960 (2006).
  5. Kusters, J.G., van Vliet, A.H. & Kuipers, E.J. Pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection. Clin Microbiol Rev 19, 449-490 (2006).
  6. Weyermann, M., Rothenbacher, D. & Brenner, H. Acquisition of Helicobacter pylori infection in early childhood: independent contributions of infected mothers, fathers, and siblings. Am J Gastroenterol 104, 182-189 (2009).
  7. Pounder, R.E. & Ng, D. The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in different countries. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 9 Suppl 2, 33-39 (1995).
  8. Dethlefsen, L., Huse, S., Sogin, M.L. & Relman, D.A. The pervasive effects of an antibiotic on the human gut microbiota, as revealed by deep 16S rRNA sequencing. PLoS Biol 6, e280 (2008).
  9. Erickson, K.L. & Hubbard, N.E. Probiotic immunomodulation in health and disease. J Nutr 130, 403S-409S (2000).
  10. Wang, K.Y. et al. Effects of ingesting Lactobacillus- and Bifidobacterium-containing yogurt in subjects with colonized Helicobacter pylori. Am J Clin Nutr 80, 737-741 (2004).
  11. Yang, Y.J. & Sheu, B.S. Probiotics-containing yogurts suppress Helicobacter pylori load and modify immune response and intestinal microbiota in the Helicobacter pylori-infected children. Helicobacter 17, 297-304 (2012).
  12. Szajewska, H., Albrecht, P. & Topczewska-Cabanek, A. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial: effect of lactobacillus GG supplementation on Helicobacter pylori eradication rates and side effects during treatment in children. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 48, 431-436 (2009).
  13. Dang, Y., Reinhardt, J.D., Zhou, X. & Zhang, G. The effect of probiotics supplementation on Helicobacter pylori eradication rates and side effects during eradication therapy: a meta-analysis. PLoS One 9, e111030 (2014).
  14. Navarro-Rodriguez, T. et al. Association of a probiotic to a Helicobacter pylori eradication regimen does not increase efficacy or decreases the adverse effects of the treatment: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. BMC Gastroenterol 13, 56 (2013).
  15. Plummer, S.F. et al. Effects of probiotics on the composition of the intestinal microbiota following antibiotic therapy. Int J Antimicrob Agents 26, 69-74 (2005).
  16. Kim, M.N. et al. The effects of probiotics on PPI-triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication. Helicobacter 13, 261-268 (2008).
  17. Wang, Z.H., Gao, Q.Y. & Fang, J.Y. Meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of Lactobacillus-containing and Bifidobacterium-containing probiotic compound preparation in Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. J Clin Gastroenterol 47, 25-32 (2013).
  18. Videlock, E.J. & Cremonini, F. Meta-analysis: probiotics in antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 35, 1355-1369 (2012).
  19. Mulder, D.J., Noble, A.J., Justinich, C.J. & Duffin, J.M. A tale of two diseases: the history of inflammatory bowel disease. J Crohns Colitis 8, 341-348 (2014).
  20. Marteau, P. Bacterial flora in inflammatory bowel disease. Dig Dis 27 Suppl 1, 99-103 (2009).
  21. Isaacs, K. & Herfarth, H. Role of probiotic therapy in IBD. Inflamm Bowel Dis 14, 1597-1605 (2008).
  22. Haller, D. et al. Guidance for substantiating the evidence for beneficial effects of probiotics: probiotics in chronic inflammatory bowel disease and the functional disorder irritable bowel syndrome. J Nutr 140, 690S-697S (2010).
  23. Swidsinski, A., Loening-Baucke, V., Vaneechoutte, M. & Doerffel, Y. Active Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can be specifically diagnosed and monitored based on the biostructure of the fecal flora. Inflamm Bowel Dis 14, 147-161 (2008).