Shu Q, Qu F, Gill H S
Milk & Health Research Centre, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2001 Aug;33(2):171-7. doi: 10.1097/00005176-200108000-00014.
Diarrhea associated with rotavirus and Escherichia coli is one of the major gastrointestinal problems faced by human infants. Using a piglet model, the authors investigated the protective effectiveness of probiotic feeding against naturally acquired diarrhea in weanlings.
Seventeen piglets were allocated into two groups balanced for live weight and litter of origin. The test group was administered Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 (109 colony-forming units (cfu)/piglet/d) orally until the end of the experiment; the control group did not receive probiotic treatment. After 1 week, animals were penned individually and weaned onto a diet for a weaner. The degree of subsequent diarrheal disease was monitored in both groups of animals, feed intake and live weight gain of the piglets were assessed, and blood and fecal samples were collected to measure concurrent systemic and gastrointestinal tract immunologic activity.
Compared with the controls, piglets that received B. lactis HN019 had a lower severity of weanling diarrhea and maintained a greater feed conversion efficiency during weaning. The protective effect of probiotic feeding was associated with lower concentrations of fecal rotavirus and E. coli, higher blood leukocyte phagocytic and T-lymphocyte proliferative responses, and higher gastrointestinal tract pathogen-specific antibody titers.
These results show that dietary treatment using B. lactis HN019 can reduce the severity of weanling diarrhea associated with rotavirus and E. coli, possibly via a mechanism of enhanced immune-mediated protection. This study suggests that probiotic treatment may be an effective dietary means of preventing or limiting diarrhea in human infants.
轮状病毒和大肠杆菌引起的腹泻是人类婴儿面临的主要胃肠道问题之一。作者使用仔猪模型研究了益生菌喂养对断奶仔猪自然获得性腹泻的保护效果。
将17头仔猪按体重和出生窝别均衡分配到两组。试验组口服乳酸双歧杆菌HN019（109个菌落形成单位（cfu）/仔猪/天），直至实验结束；对照组未接受益生菌治疗。1周后，将动物单独圈养，并断奶改用断奶仔猪饲料。监测两组动物随后的腹泻疾病程度，评估仔猪的采食量和体重增加情况，并采集血液和粪便样本以测量同时期的全身和胃肠道免疫活性。
与对照组相比，接受乳酸双歧杆菌HN019的仔猪断奶腹泻严重程度较低，断奶期间维持了更高的饲料转化效率。益生菌喂养的保护作用与粪便中轮状病毒和大肠杆菌浓度较低、血液白细胞吞噬和T淋巴细胞增殖反应较高以及胃肠道病原体特异性抗体滴度较高有关。
这些结果表明，使用乳酸双歧杆菌HN019进行饮食治疗可降低与轮状病毒和大肠杆菌相关的断奶腹泻严重程度，可能是通过增强免疫介导保护的机制。这项研究表明，益生菌治疗可能是预防或限制人类婴儿腹泻的一种有效饮食手段。
