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Medical science has been aware of the benefits of probiotics - bacteria that provide clinical benefits for patients - for many years. However until recently, the discovery and use of these organisms has been informal.

Now a naturally occurring probiotic has been subjected to rigorous and formal clinical research. The objective of this research was to identify and isolate a probiotic organism that provides significant health benefits and is safe to consume.

The result is BBi™ Bifidobacterium immuni cultures, a superior patented strain of Bifidobacterium lactis. From an initial selection of over 2,000 naturally occurring and human isolate organisms1 this organism was found to demonstrate the most benefits in the following areas:

  • Ability to survive in the gut
  • Intestinal wall adherence
  • Excellent safety profile
  • Balancing of the gut microflora
  • Stimulation of the immune system
  • Protective effects



    This slide shows the actual Bifidobacterium lactis strain

What is BBi™

 Bifidobacterium immuni?

BBi™ Bifidobacterium immuni is the consumer brand name that Anchor have developed for the scientific strain known as Bifidobacterium lactis HN019.

Bifidobacterium lactis

Bifidobacteria are among the most predominant bacteria in the human gut. Whilst in infancy, almost all gut bacteria are Bifidobacteria, levels slowly decline after weaning, through adolescence and adult life with a more rapid decline in old age. Maintaining high Bifidobacteria levels throughout life is important for optimising health.

Ability of BBi™

 to survive and colonise in the gut

The ability to survive the passage through the acidic environment of the stomach and maintain colonising and growth characteristics in the intestines is a key requirement for a bacteria to be considered as a probiotic.

BBi™ meets these key requirements:

  • BBi™ demonstrates a remarkably high tolerance to the low pH of the stomach 1
  • BBi™ has a high resistance to bile salts1
  • Thus BBi™ is able to survive the hostile gastro-intestinal environment
  • Stool analysis shows that BBi™ survives in the gastro-intestinal tract of humans for up to two weeks after consumption of products containing BBi™ ceases2
  • Thus, BBiâ„¢ shows significantly greater adherence to intestinal cells than non-probiotic bacterial strains

Colonisation has been demonstrated in a clinical study to occur in humans with a daily dose of 6 x 107 colony forming units per day.3

Immune system stimulation effects of BBi™

There is a significant amount of information available to suggest that some strains of lactic acid bacteria may stimulate the immune system. This could be through either stimulation of the gut immune system, or modulation of the control of the immune cell production and function.4

The probiotic BBi™ has been proven in clinical trials to enhance natural immunity in humans:

  • The effect of BBi™ on the human immune system performance has been tested internationally (in Canada, Taiwan and New Zealand) in a double-blind randomised controlled trial5, and randomised 3-stage pre/post dietary supplementation clinical trials.6-8
  • Results from these trials showed that BBi™
    • significantly enhanced production of interferon-a5, a key cytokine produced primarily by stimulated macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells (components of the natural immune system) and is known to have activity against viral infections
    • significantly enhanced polymorphonuclear (PMN) phagocytic capacity5-7 and natural killer cell activity6,7
    • significantly increased proportions of total, helper (CD4+), and activated (CD25+) T lymphocytes7
    • significantly increased the proportion of CD56-positive lymphocytes in peripheral circulation and significantly increased ex vivo peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) tumoricidal activity8
  • Enhancement of immune system performance continues for three to six weeks after consumption of BBi™ ceases5,7,8
  • These combined results, together with thorough in vivo trials,9 give a strong indication that BBi™ is a potent stimulator of immune system function
  • Thus, BBi™ may be particularly useful to help strengthen health

Protective effects of BBi

The likely benefit of immune stimulation is resistance to infections and disease. This benefit has been demonstrated in a recent clinical study undertaken in young children.

A recent large scale clinical study10-12 demonstrated in children aged 1-3 years consumption of milk containing a combination of prebiotic and probiotic BBi™:

  • significantly reduced incidence and prevalence of dysentery (bloody diarrhoea)
  • significantly reduced prevalence of severe illness and sickness with a high temperature (>100 degrees F)
  • significantly reduced the need for antibiotics

Other interesting findings from the study10-12 included:

  • a near statistically significant reduction in incidence of ear infections (as indicated by ear discharge) was observed in children consuming the prebiotic and BBi™ combination
  • the decreased incidence of dysentery and sickness in the children consuming the prebiotic and BBi™ combination contributed to a clinically meaningful reduction in anaemia and iron deficiency (not statistically significant)

The probiotic BBiâ„¢ has also been extensively studied in in vivo models and infection challenge studies:

  • BBi™ provides a significant level of in vivo protection against intestinal pathogens including Salmonella typhimurium, E. coli and rotavirus13-15
  • BBi™ significantly improves morbidity and survival rates of mice challenged with Salmonella13,14 and improves morbidity and immune responses in E. coli infected mice15
  • BBi™ significantly improves morbidity and immune responses of piglets challenged with rotavirus and Escherichia coli13

BBi™ provides protection against infections in vivo by:

  • Inhibiting extra-intestinal translocation of pathogens14
  • Enhancing antibody responses to pathogens and improving phagocyte function14
  • Reducing the impact of infection, as demonstrated by the reduced severity of weaning diarrhoea due to Escherichia coli and rotavirus in piglets13
  • Stimulating the immune system13-15

Safety Profile of BBi™

Extensive clinical in vivo studies have shown that BBi™ is safe for human consumption.

  • BBi™ is a naturally occurring organism, originally isolated from a yoghurt which is part of the usual diet1
  • A series of clinical trials undertaken in humans (involving adults and children) found no adverse reactions to consuming milk products containing BBi™ 5-8, 10-12
  • Extensive in vivo testing shows that BBi™ has no adverse effects on growth rate, feed intake, gastro-intestinal histology, blood cell counts or blood chemistry in mice16-18
  • BBi™ does not degrade gastric mucosa19
  • BBi™ demonstrates no extraordinary resistance to antibiotics and does not possess any genes linked to resistance20
  • BBi™ does not have the potential to act as a pathogenic organism as it does not cross the intestinal barrier or translocate to extra-intestinal tissues in normal or immuno-compromised hosts16

References

  1. Prasad J, Gill H, Smart J, Gopal PK. Selection and characterisation of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains for use as probiotics. Int Dairy Journal 1998:8;993-1002.
  2. Gopal PK, Prasad J, Gill HS. Effects of consumption of Bifidobacterium lactis DR10 and galacto-oligosaccharides on the microecology of the gastrointestinal tract in human subjects. Nutrition Research 2003:23;1313-1328.
  3. Prasad J, Ahmed M, Stevenson L, Crawford R, Gill H, Gopal P. Impact of consumption of different doses of Bifidobacterium lactis DR10â„¢ on the microecology of the gastrointestinal tract of elderly human subjects. Poster presentation at International Dairy Federation World Dairy Congress, October 2001, Auckland, New Zealand.
  4. Gill HS. Stimulation of the immune system by lactic cultures. Int Dairy Journal 1998:8:535-544.
  5. Arunchalam K, Gill HS, Chandra RK. Enhancement of natural immune function by dietary consumption of Bifidobacterium lactis (HN019). European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000:54;263-267.
  6. Chiang BL, Sheih YH, Wang LH, Liao CK, Gill HS. Enhancing immunity by dietary consumption of a probiotic lactic acid bacteria (Bifidobacterium lactis HN019): optimization and definition of cellular immune responses. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000:54;849-855.
  7. Gill HS, Rutherfurd KJ, Cross ML, Gopal PG. Enhancement of immunity in the elderly by dietary supplementation with the probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis HN019. Am J Clin Nutr 2001:74;833-839.
  8. Gill HS, Rutherfurd KJ, Cross ML. Dietary probiotic supplementation enhances natural killer cell activity in the elderly: an investigation of age-related immunological changes. Journal of Clinical Immunology 2001:21;264 (4);264-271.
  9. Gill HS, Rutherfurd KJ, Prasad Gopal PK. Enhancement of natural and acquired immunity by Lactobacillus rhamnosus (HN001), Lactobacillus acidophilus (HN017) and Bifidobacterium lactis (HN019). British Journal of Nutrition 2000:83;167-176.
  10. Sazawal S, Dhingra U, Sarkar A, Dhingra P, Deb S, Marwah D, Menon VP, Kumar J, Black RE. Efficacy of milk fortified with a probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis (DR10-10â„¢) and prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides in prevention of morbidity and on nutritional status. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004:13(Suppl):S28.
  11. Sazawal S, Dhingra U, Sarkar A, Dhingra P, Deb S, Marwah D, Menon VP, Black RE. Efficacy of milk fortified with a probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis (DR-10â„¢) and prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides in prevention of morbidity - a community based double masked randomized trial. Poster presentation at 2nd World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Paris (France) 2004: July 3-7.
  12. Sarkar A, Sazawal S, Dhingra U, Dhingra P, Sood M, Verma P, Juyal R, Kumar J, Menon VP, Black M, Black RE. Effect of fortification of milk with probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 (DR-10â„¢) and galacto-oligosaccharides on anaemia, growth and development in children aged 1-4 years - a double masked randomized trial. Poster presentation at 2nd World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Paris (France) 2004: July 3-7.
  13. Shu Q, Qu Freeman, Gill HS. Probiotic treatment using Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 reduces weanling diarrhea associated with rotavirus and Escherichia coli infection in a piglet model. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 2001:33;171-177.
  14. Shu Q, Lin H, Rutherford KJ, Fenwick SG, Prasad J, Gopal PK, Gill HS. Dietary Bifidobacterium lactis (HN019) enhances resistance to oral Salmonella typhimurium infection in mice. Microbiol Immunol 2000:44(3);213-222.
  15. Shu Q, Gill HS. A dietary probiotic (Bifidobacterium lactis HN019) reduces the severity of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 infection in mice. Med Microbiol Immunol 2001:189;147-152.
  16. Zhou JS, Shu Q, Rutherfurd KJ, Prasad J, Gopal PK, Gill HS. Acute oral toxicity and bacterial translocation studies on potentially probiotic strains of lactic acid bacteria. Food and Chemical Toxicology 2000:38;153-161.
  17. Zhou JS, Shu Q, Rutherfurd KJ, Prasad J, Birtles MJ, Gopal PK, Gill HS. Safety assessment of potential probiotic lactic acid bacterial strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, Lb. Acidophilus HN017, and Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 in BALB/c mice. International Journal of Food Microbiology 2000:56;87-96.
  18. Shu Q, Zhou JS, Rutherfurd KJ, Birtles MJ, Prasad J, Gopal PK, Gill HS. Probiotic lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus HN017, Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Bifidobacterium lactis HN019) have no adverse effects on the health of mice. International Dairy Journal 1999:9;831-836.
  19. Zhou JS, Gopal PK, Gill HS. Potential probiotic lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus (HN001), Lactobacillus acidophilus (HN017) and Bifidobacterium lactis (HN019) do not degrade gastric mucin in vitro. International Journal of Food Microbiology 2001:63;81-90.
  20. Zhou JS, Pillidge CJ, Gopal PK, Gill HS. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles of new probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains. Int J Food Microbiol 2005:98(2):211-217.

 


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