Lactobacillus plantarum study and medicinal use

Lactobacillus plantarum is a probiotic that has various health benefits.

Oral administration of Lactobacillus plantarum Lq80 and Megasphaera elsdenii iNP-001 induces efficient recovery from mucosal atrophy in the small and the large intestines of weaning piglets.
Anim Sci J. 2009. Laboratory of Animal Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Kyoto, Japan.
Weaning causes atrophy of intestinal mucosa and a drop of IgA protection in piglets which increases vulnerability to pathogenic infections. Probiotic lactobacilli may support recovery from such weaning stresses. Butyrate-produce bacteria may support the growth of colonic mucosa. Megasphaera elsdenii, a lactate-utilizing butyrate producer, may help butyrate production particularly when combined with lactobacilli. Weaned piglets (Experiment 1: 20 days old, Experiment 2: 28 days old) were orally dosed once a day with either (L) 10(10) (cell/dose) L. plantarum Lq80, or (LM) 10(10) (cell/dose) Lq80 with 10(9) (cell/dose) M. elsdenii iNP-001. Lq80 was contained in capsules resistant to gastric digestion. M. elsdenii was contained in capsules resistant to gastric and intestinal digestion. An untreated control (C) was also prepared. After 2 weeks of administration, L. plantarum enhanced the recovery from the villous atrophy in both experiments. The rectal and colonic IgA tended to be higher in L and LM than in C in Experiment 1. Colonic butyrate was higher in LM than in the others in Experiment 1. The thickness of the colonic mucosa was greater in LM than in the others in Experiment 1. In early weaned piglets, the effects of L. plantarum and M. elsdenii were clear.

Probiotics restore bowel flora and improve liver enzymes in human alcohol-induced liver injury: a pilot study.
Alcohol. 2008; Kirpich IA, Solovieva NV, Leikhter SN, Shidakova NA, Lebedeva OV, McClain CJ, Cave M. Department of Biochemistry, Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia.
The effects of chronic alcohol consumption on the bowel flora and the potential therapeutic role of probiotics in alcohol-induced liver injury have not previously been evaluated. In this study, 66 adult Russian males admitted to a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of alcoholic psychosis were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, clinical trial to study the effects of alcohol and probiotics on the bowel flora and alcohol-induced liver injury. Patients were randomized to receive 5 days of Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus plantarum 8PA3 versus standard therapy alone (abstinence plus vitamins). Stool cultures and liver enzymes were performed at baseline and again after therapy. Results were compared between groups and with 24 healthy, matched controls who did not consume alcohol. Compared to healthy controls, alcoholic patients had significantly reduced numbers of bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and enterococci. The mean baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) activities were significantly elevated in the alcoholic group compared to the healthy control group, indicating that these patients did have mild alcohol-induced liver injury. After 5 days of probiotic therapy, alcoholic patients had significantly increased numbers of both bifidobacteria and lactobacilli compared to the standard therapy arm. Despite similar values at study initiation, patients treated with probiotics had significantly lower AST and ALT activity at the end of treatment than those treated with standard therapy alone. Ppatients with alcohol-induced liver injury have altered bowel flora compared to healthy controls. Short-term oral supplementation with B. bifidum and Lactobacillus plantarum 8PA3 was associated with restoration of the bowel flora and greater improvement in alcohol-induced liver injury than standard therapy alone.

WCFS1