2000 Volume 19 Issue 1 Pages 41-45
A pilot clinical trial was carried out in Egypt to investigate the effect of probiotic preparation containing both Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain LC-705 (L. rhamnosus strain LC-705) and Propionibacterium freudenreichii spp. shermanii JS (P. freudenreichii spp. shermanii JS) on the levels of aflatoxin in human faecal samples. Faecal sampling was the only practical sampling method for this pilot study and faecal levels of aflatoxin are thought to reflect the exposure. For this study, 20 normal healthy volunteers were selected and randomized into two groups of 10. The study was divided into three stages: baseline period (1 week), supplementation period (2 weeks), follow-up period (1 week). During the baseline period the subjects consumed their normal diets and gave two faecal samples (in the beginning and at the end). During supplementation period two faecal samples (after the first and second supplementation week) were collected. During the follow-up a faecal sample was collected at the end of the week. The faecal samples of 11 of the recruited 20 volunteers were positive for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) with levels ranging between 1.8 and 6 μg AFB1/kg faeces. For volunteers who were administered the probiotic preparation, there was a significant reduction in the level of AFB1 after the second week of the trial, a reduction which continued during the follow up period. There was no difference in the consumption of foods known to be sources of exposure to AFB1 between the group receiving the treatment and the control group. These results suggest that the strains of probiotics used in this trial have the ability to influence the faecal content of AFB1.
