Intake of Improves Defecation Frequency in Healthy Adults.

Reportedly, the intake of , a beverage made from steamed rice fermented by , improves defecation frequency. However, its functional ingredients and mechanism of action remain unclear. To compare the effects of and a placebo beverage on defecation frequency and to identify the functional ingredients and mechanism of action, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind parallel-group comparative trial was performed on two groups. The had 302 ± 15.5 mg/118 g of cells, which was not in the placebo. Compared with the placebo group, the group showed a significant increase in weekly defecation frequency at 2 weeks (5.09 days vs. 4.14 days), 3 weeks (5.41 days vs. 4.18 days), and 4 weeks (5.09 days vs. 3.95 days), along with an increase in the weekly fecal weight at 4 weeks (724 g vs. 501 g). The intake of did not induce significant intergroup differences in the fecal SCFA concentration, whereas it significantly decreased the relative abundance of and significantly increased that of at 3 weeks. Therefore, intake improved defecation frequency, and cells played potentially important roles as functional ingredients.