Background – New probiotic combinations are an opportunity to develop more targeted products for different consumer groups or health problems. The general criteria for an industrially interesting probiotic are safety, survival in the gastrointestinal tract, adhesion, colonisation, documented physiological effects shown in clinical trials, and technological feasibility.
Objective – The aim was to develop a clinically effective and technologically applicable probiotic combination. Design – Microbiological and biochemical screening combined with cell line studies were used in order to screen for the most suitable combination for clinical interventions.
Outcomes – The screening resulted in a combination of four strains: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus rhamnosus Lc705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Bifidobacterium Bb-12. Clinical efficacy was demonstrated in subjects suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, and in subjects undergoing Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment. All the strains were capable of colonising the intestinal tract. The combination was technologically feasible for industrial scale production, and the stability of all the strains in a fermented milk drink was good during a five-week shelf life.
Conclusions – This development process show that the combination of LGG, L. rhamnosus Lc705, P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Bb-12 is a promising probiotic ingredient for functional foods targeted to relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.