Biotechnology Journal International

There is unequivocal evidence that administration of probiotics could be effective in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhoea in children and the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhoea and nosocomial/community acquired diarrhoea. Encouraging evidence is also emerging for the effectiveness of probiotics in the prevention and management of pouchitis and paediatric atopic diseases, and the prevention of postoperative infections. There is also strong evidence that certain probiotic strains are able to enhance immune function, especially in subjects with less than adequate immune function such as the elderly. This work describes a randomized, double blind, placebo- controlled human clinical trial to investigate the immune effects on tribal children of a fermented product containing probiotic strains, Lactobacillus acidophilus LBKV-3, which was compared with another traditional fermented product, Dahi and Buffalo milk. To study the   immunomodulatory effects, implantation abilities of the culture in the GI tract of tribal children, forty-five tribal children of 6-7; 7-8 and 8-9 years were randomly selected and distributed in three groups, each comprising of 15 children in each of the age group. Regular dietary history of the children involved during the feeding trial was obtained. The parents of all children were informed about the importance and the objectives to be ascertained during the study. A formal signed consent was obtained from their parents. The test group of the children was receiving 100 g product volunteers/day of freshly prepared Probiotic Acidophilus Milk P.A.M. containing 10⁷ cfu/g of culture. The control group was receiving 100 g freshly prepared Dahi containing 10⁷ cfu/g of the LAB while blank group of the volunteers was receiving thermal processed (85°C/30 min) buffalo milk containing 5% fat and 10% S.N.F.@ 100 ml/day/volunteer. This feeding trial was continued for 12 weeks. As a result the volunteers assigned to the probiotic group a clear improvement in their intestinal track. The study revealed that probiotics may exert a positive effect on health of tribal children.