Adjunctive treatment with probiotics partially alleviates symptoms and reduces inflammation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

PURPOSE: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder. This study aimed to assess the effect of a probiotic product (containing Lactobacillus casei Zhang, Lactobacillus plantarum P-8, and Bifdobacterium animalis subsp. lactis V9) as an adjunct to a routine regimen in IBS management. METHODS: Forty-five patients with IBS were randomized into the probiotic (n = 24) and control (n = 21) groups, receiving the routine regimen with or without probiotics for 28 days, respectively. Serum and fecal samples were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The IBS-symptom severity score (P < 0.01), serum levels of IL-6 (P < 0.01) and TNF-α (P < 0.001) were significantly lower in the probiotic group than the control group at day 28. The probiotic adjunctive treatment resulted in significant decreases in some bacterial genera that worsen IBS, such as Bacteroides (P < 0.01), Escherichia (P < 0.05), and Citrobacter (P < 0.05), significant decreases were also observed in some beneficial genera in the control group, including Bifidobacterium (P < 0.05), Eubacterium (P < 0.05), Dorea (P < 0.01), and Butyricicoccus (P < 0.05). Furthermore, significant correlations were found between some monitored parameters and compositional changes in the fecal microbiota, suggesting that the clinical improvement of IBS was likely associated with gut microbiota modulation. The enterotype analysis revealed that the initial fecal microbiota composition could influence clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The adjunctive use of probiotics with a routine regimen showed additional clinical effectiveness compared to the routine regimen alone in managing IBS. A pretreatment gut microbiome analysis might help tailor a personalized probiotic regimen to optimize treatment effects.