TY - JOUR
T1 - Prebiotics for irritable bowel syndrome
AU - Quigley, Eamonn M.M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This article was supported, in part, by grants from The Science Foundation, Ireland. Eamonn MM Quigley is associated with a campus company, Alimentary Health, which holds patents in the area of the gut flora and probiotics, and has served as a consultant to Procter & Gamble, Salix, Sucampo, Ironwood, Boeheringer Ingelheim, Reckitts Benkhiser, Novartis, Movetis, GlaxoSmithKline, McNeil Consumer Health Care and Schering. The author has received research support from Alimentary Health, Procter & Gamble, Movetis, Boehringer Ingelheim and Medtronic, and has participated in speaking engagements for Procter & Gamble, Norgine, Nycomed, Reckitts Benkhiser, Novartis, Danone, Yakult and Prometheus. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
PY - 2009/10
Y1 - 2009/10
N2 - While a variety of probiotic preparations have been quite extensively studied in the short-term treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), little is known regarding the efficacy of prebiotics - the nondigestible but fermentable foods that promote the growth of one or a number of species of beneficial commensal flora in the human colon - in IBS. In this study, a specially designed prebiotic, a trans-galactooligosaccharide, was studied in two doses, 3.5 and 7 g, in a single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 4-weeks duration in Rome II-positive IBS patients. The researchers found that the prebiotic altered the fecal flora, increasing the numbers of Bifidobacteria in a dose-dependent manner and also improved, but in a less predictable manner, individual IBS symptoms, such as flatulence and bloating, as well as impacting on a composite score of the subjects' global assessment of relief and quality of life. This study indicates that prebiotics, either on their own or in combination with a probiotic, deserve further study in IBS.
AB - While a variety of probiotic preparations have been quite extensively studied in the short-term treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), little is known regarding the efficacy of prebiotics - the nondigestible but fermentable foods that promote the growth of one or a number of species of beneficial commensal flora in the human colon - in IBS. In this study, a specially designed prebiotic, a trans-galactooligosaccharide, was studied in two doses, 3.5 and 7 g, in a single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 4-weeks duration in Rome II-positive IBS patients. The researchers found that the prebiotic altered the fecal flora, increasing the numbers of Bifidobacteria in a dose-dependent manner and also improved, but in a less predictable manner, individual IBS symptoms, such as flatulence and bloating, as well as impacting on a composite score of the subjects' global assessment of relief and quality of life. This study indicates that prebiotics, either on their own or in combination with a probiotic, deserve further study in IBS.
KW - Fecal microflora
KW - Functional gastrointestinal disorder
KW - Gut flora
KW - Irritable bowel syndrome
KW - Microbiota
KW - Prebiotic
KW - Probiotic
KW - Trans-galactooligosaccharide
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U2 - 10.1586/egh.09.46
DO - 10.1586/egh.09.46
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 19817670
AN - SCOPUS:70449724723
SN - 1747-4124
VL - 3
SP - 487
EP - 492
JO - Expert Review of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
JF - Expert Review of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
IS - 5
ER -