BioGaia product is effective in constipated adults, new study finds

Swedish healthcare company BioGaia says a study of 40 adults with constipation shows that the patients given Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis were significantly less constipated after four weeks compared to the patients given placebo.

In the double blind, placebo-controlled study 40 adults, diagnosed with functional constipation, were supplemented with either two chewable tablets per day of Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis or corresponding placebo. The intervention period was four weeks and constipation was measured as number of bowel movements per week. Bowel movements were recorded for each patient at the start of the study and after four weeks (end of study).

At the end of the study the group given Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis had significantly more bowel movements per week than the group given placebo.

The results, published in the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, are the first using Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis in adult patients with functional constipation and confirm earlier positive data in children.

'Constipation is a common problem world wide and many of the current treatment options have side effects. Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis has already been shown to be an effective alternative in children and it is satisfying that the new results confirm that this also applies to adults with constipation,' said Peter Rothschild, President, BioGaia.