Probiotic Relieves Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(Reuters Health, 11/1/05)

When Dr. Eamonn M. M. Quigley of the University Cork College in Ireland, and team, tested the beneficial strain of bacteria called Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 on lab animals, the researchers found that this probiotic had a modulating effect, stabilizing both diarrhea and constipation. Next the investigators assessed the impact of the bacteria on human bowel movement frequency by randomly assigning 85 women with IBS to treatment with B. infantis 35624 for 4 weeks and 80 to a placebo. The scientists found that the probiotic tended to produce normalized bowel movement frequency, as well as decreased pain and bloating. The researchers conclude that B. infantis 35624 is a powerful immune modulator capable of reversing severe colon inflammation and restoring “the immune balance from a pro-inflammatory state to an anti-inflammatory state."

(American College of Gastroenterology, Annual Meeting in Honolulu, 2005)