A probiotics-containing biscuit modulates the intestinal microbiota in the elderly

Objectives: Evaluation of the impact of a biscuit containing the probiotics Bifidobacterium longum Bar33 and Lactobacillus helveticus Barl3 on the intestinal microbiota in the elderly. Design: Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Participants: Thirty-two elderly volunteers living in Italy. The group was composed of 19 women and 13 men aged between 71 and 88 years (mean 76). Intervention: Subjects were randomized in two groups consuming one dose of the probiotics-containing biscuit or placebo once a day for 30 days. Measurements: For each subject the intestinal microbiota was characterized using the phylogenetic microarray platform HTF-Microbi. Array before and after intervention. Results: Our data demonstrated that one-month consumption of a probiotics-containing biscuit was effective in redressing some of the age-related dysbioses of the intestinal microbiota. In particular, the probiotic treatment reverted the age-related increase of the opportunistic pathogens Clostridium cluster XI, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecium and the enteropathogenic genus Campylobacter. Conclusion: The present study opens the way to the development of elderly-tailored probiotic-based functional foods to counteract the age-related dysbioses of the intestinal microbiota. © 2013 Serdi and Springer-Verlag France.