Flora-17 Vegan Probiotics

A probiotic has been defined as a “live microorganism which when administered in adequate amounts confers a health benefit to the host”.

Benefits of Probiotic include: the improvement of intestinal tract health by regulating the microbiota, stimulation and development of the immune system, synthesizing and enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients; reducing symptoms of lactose intolerance. Several mechanisms of action have been proposed to explain the beneficial effects of probiotics. The mechanisms by which probiotics exert their effects are largely unknown, but may involve modifying gut pH, antagonizing pathogens through production of antimicrobial compounds, competing with pathogens for binding site, receptor sites, nutrients and growth factors, stimulating immunomodulatory cells, and production of lactase (3).

What are probiotic strains?

Probiotic bacteria are classified by their genus, species and strain.

GENUS: A genus is a biological classification of living organisms. It is a family of organisms and has similar organisms. A genus contains one or more species.

SPECIES: A category of biological classification ranking immediately below the genus, comprising related organisms. Many different species of bacteria can belong to the same genus.

STRAIN: A strain is a genetic variant, a subtype or a culture within a biological species. One strain is different than the other strain even though it belongs to the same Genus & Species. It is the strain that matters when it comes to the health benefits offered by that particular probiotic. Please note that probiotics can offer health benefits but it is not necessary that one single probiotic can offer all the health benefits.

Every strain is different and plays a different function. Probiotics have specific target of action and they are strain dependent. Different bacterial strains may differ with respect to their effects on health.

Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM

 (Genus)            (Species)      (Strain)

While looking for a probiotic supplement which is best suited for your condition, make sure to look out for a clinically researched strain. It is important to know that not all probiotics are the same. They may vary in potency, stability and the benefits offered to the body – even though they belong to the same species. As a result, it is important to look for a supplement containing probiotic whose strains are backed by clinical research carried out on strain level.

Unived’s Flora-17^TM contains Probiotics specified at strain level. All the strains present into the product are clinically studied at strain level. The strain has shown beneficial effects individually as well as in combination. The dosage offered by us is also a clinically studied dosage which restores the gut microbiota under gut-stress conditions.

Probiotics play a vast role when it comes to gut health. Pathogens may alter the intestinal permeability while probiotic strains could prevent damage, repair and restore the mucosal integrity, increase the epithelial resistance against pathogens and induce cell proliferation. In addition, specific probiotic strains have been shown to exert a protective effect against acute diarrhea, rotavirus diarrhea, and antibiotic-associated diarrhea, as well as Helicobacter pylori infection, and they alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome. They also compete with pathogens and won’t let them colonized in gut (3).

Probiotics & Diarrhea:

Studies have shown that probiotics can decrease the incidence of diarrhea. They help in reducing the duration & severity of diarrhea. Probiotics are beneficial in acute, antibiotic-associated and traveller’s diarrhea. Antimicrobial treatment alters the balance of the healthy microbiota, which in turns result in diarrhea and emergence of some pathogens like C. difficile. Probiotics are helpful in restoring the balance.

Probiotics & Irritable Bowel Syndrome:

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits without any structural abnormalities. Patients experience abdominal pain and altered bowel habit, with either predominantly diarrhea (IBS-D), constipation (IBS-C), or both (IBS-M). Recent studies have shown that disturbed gut microbiota may promote the development and maintenance of IBS (4).

Study carried out on daily consumption of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 (2×10¹¹ CFU per day) indicated a significant beneficial effect on bloating symptoms in patients with functional bowel disorders. The significant pre- to post -intervention decrease in the severity of bloating symptoms (5).

Many athletes experience GI symptoms and resulting performance impairment during competition, particularly for endurance events such as marathons and triathlons. Symptoms experienced during endurance competition are likely caused by a combination stresses including splanchnic hypoperfusion (reduced blood flow to the gut), mechanical jarring (bouncing up and down), dehydration, and ingestion of food and drink, particularly high osmolality (concentration of solutes such as sugars and electrolytes). Several studies have demonstrated that exercise increases permeability of the gut to allow translocation of toxins from the gut into the systemic circulation (10).

Due to gut stress episodes, athletes often experience diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, flatulence & bloating during training & competition. This affects their performance. Disruption of gut microbiota is one of the reason behind this. Therefore restoration of healthy microbiota with the help of probiotics can be a way to lessen the episodes of gut stress episodes.

Study carried out by west et al. (2014), concluded that probiotic supplementation had positive effects in relation to Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) in a healthy active individuals. Bifidobacterium lactis (Bl-04^®) significantly reduced the risk of URTI by 27% and both probiotic supplements (Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM^® & Bifidobacterium lactis Bl-04^®) were associated with a delay in the time to URTI (11).

(Díaz-Jiménez, J., Sánchez-Sánchez, E., Ordoñez, F. J., Rosety, I., Díaz, A. J., Rosety-Rodriguez, M., … & Brenes, F. (2021). Impact of Probiotics on the Performance of Endurance Athletes: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 11576).

The probiotics can give beneficial effects when they are administered in the effective dosage. Therefore it is important that the probiotics should remain viable in an effective dosage until the end of a shelf life. The viability and survival of microbes in different environments that are presented by the probiotic products and the environments they will encounter during manufacture, transportation and storage are critical in ensuring their effectiveness.

Although probiotics are commonly selected to withstand low pH and bile acid, transit through the gastrointestinal tract may result in a substantial loss of viable organisms. Physical and chemical barriers, such as low pH, bile, digestive enzymes and the potential presence of antimicrobial components from foods, endogenous microbes and the host may lead to a loss of viability of the consumed probiotic.

In the market, various Probiotic dietary supplements are present. They often formulated with multi-strain organisms, whereas their survival and efficacy have often been investigated as single-strain products. Therefore the question arises, whether these strains can survive in the presence of other strains? Are Probiotic strains antagonistic or synergistic towards each other, when combined and in the gastrointestinal tract?

This is where Unived’s Probiotic strains are making a difference. The strains present in the blend are tested in in-vitro study to check if they are able to survive together in the gut or not. The study concluded that the multi-strains probiotic present in the blend do not have antagonizing effect and can survive together in the gut (6).

• The use of antibiotics may be accompanied by gastrointestinal disturbances; most notably antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD). Study carried out by A.C. Ouwehand et al. (2014), to determine the dose-response effect of probiotic combination (HOWARU® Restore) on the incidence of AAD and CDAD ( difficile-associated diarrhea) and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms in adult in-patients requiring antibiotic therapy. Patients were randomized among three study groups: HOWARU® Restore probiotic 1.70 × 10¹⁰ CFU (high-dose), HOWARU® Restore probiotic 4.17 × 10⁹ CFU (low-dose), or placebo. The primary endpoint of the study was the incidence of AAD. Secondary endpoints included incidence of CDAD, diarrhoea duration, stools per day, bloody stools, fever, abdominal cramping, and bloating. Incidences of fever, abdominal pain, and bloating were lower with increasing probiotic dose. The number of daily liquid stools and average duration of diarrhoea decreased with higher probiotic dosage. The tested four strain probiotic combination appears to lower the risk of AAD, CDAD, and gastrointestinal symptoms in a dose-dependent manner in adult in-patients (7).
• Barker et al. (2017), conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to determine the feasibility and health outcomes of adjunct probiotic use in patients with an initial mild to moderate C. difficile infection (CDI). The study duration was 28 days. All participants received a placebo or single multi-strain oral probiotic capsule (Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM^®, ATCC 700396; Lactobacillus paracasei Lpc-37^®, ATCC SD5275; Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07^®, ATCC SC5220; Bifidobacterium lactis Bl-04^®, ATCC SD5219; 1.70×10¹⁰ CFU per capsule) daily for 4 weeks. Administration of Probiotics was associated with a significant improvement in diarrhoea outcomes. The primary duration of diarrhoea outcome and two exploratory outcomes, total diarrhoea days and rate of diarrhoea, all decreased in participants with probiotic use compared with placebo. There was no significant difference in the rate of CDI recurrence or functional improvement over time between treatment groups (8).
• Wolfe et al. (2018), examined changes to the GI microbiota in a study population where probiotic treatment was associated with significantly reduced duration of CDI diarrhea. Probiotic treatment consisted of a daily multi-strain capsule (Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM^®, ATCC 700396; Lactobacillus paracasei Lpc-37^®, ATCC SD5275; Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07^®, ATCC SC5220; Bifidobacterium lactis B1-04^®, ATCC SD5219) containing 1.7 x 10¹⁰ CFUs (9).

The studies on single strains are also carried out and found to have beneficial effects in terms of gut health & immune health.

1. Shi, L. H., Balakrishnan, K., Thiagarajah, K., Ismail, N. I. M., & Yin, O. S. (2016). Beneficial properties of probiotics. Tropical life sciences research, 27(2), 73.
2. Ciorba, M. A. (2012). A gastroenterologist’s guide to probiotics. Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology, 10(9), 960-968.
3. Collado, M. C., Isolauri, E., Salminen, S., & Sanz, Y. (2009). The impact of probiotic on gut health. Current drug metabolism, 10(1), 68-78.
4. Skrzydło-Radomańska, B., Prozorow-Król, B., Cichoż-Lach, H., Majsiak, E., Bierła, J. B., Kosikowski, W., … & Cukrowska, B. (2020). The effectiveness of synbiotic preparation containing lactobacillus and bifidobacterium probiotic strains and short chain fructooligosaccharides in patients with diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome—A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrients, 12(7), 1999.
5. Ringel-Kulka, T., Palsson, O. S., Maier, D., Carroll, I., Galanko, J. A., Leyer, G., & Ringel, Y. (2011). Probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 versus placebo for the symptoms of bloating in patients with functional bowel disorders: a double-blind study. Journal of clinical gastroenterology, 45(6), 518-525.
6. Forssten, S. D., & Ouwehand, A. C. (2017). Simulating colonic survival of probiotics in single-strain products compared to multi-strain products. Microbial ecology in health and disease, 28(1), 1378061.
7. Ouwehand, A. C., DongLian, C., Weijian, X., Stewart, M., Ni, J., Stewart, T., & Miller, L. E. (2014). Probiotics reduce symptoms of antibiotic use in a hospital setting: a randomized dose response study. Vaccine, 32(4), 458-463.
8. Barker, A. K., Duster, M., Valentine, S., Hess, T., Archbald-Pannone, L., Guerrant, R., & Safdar, N. (2017). A randomized controlled trial of probiotics for Clostridium difficile infection in adults (PICO). Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 72(11), 3177-3180.
9. De Wolfe, T. J., Eggers, S., Barker, A. K., Kates, A. E., Dill-McFarland, K. A., Suen, G., & Safdar, N. (2018). Oral probiotic combination of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium alters the gastrointestinal microbiota during antibiotic treatment for Clostridium difficile infection. PLoS One, 13(9), e0204253.
10. Miles, M. P. (2020). Probiotics and gut health in athletes. Current Nutrition Reports, 9(3), 129-136.
11. West, N. P., Horn, P. L., Pyne, D. B., Gebski, V. J., Lahtinen, S. J., Fricker, P. A., & Cripps, A. W. (2014). Probiotic supplementation for respiratory and gastrointestinal illness symptoms in healthy physically active individuals. Clinical Nutrition, 33(4), 581-587.