Effects of dietary fiber with Bacillus coagulans lilac-01 on bowel movement and fecal properties of healthy volunteers with a tendency for constipation

Abstract

To elucidate the effects of Lilac LAB (Bacillus coagulans lilac-01 and okara [soy pulp] powder) on bowel movements/fecal properties, we conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial with healthy Japanese volunteers with a tendency for constipation (n = 297). The subjects ingested 2 g/d placebo (okara powder) or test food (Lilac LAB, 1 × 10(8) CFU) once a day for 2 weeks. In the test group of functionally constipated subjects, the changes in the average scores of self-reported fecal size, sensation of incomplete evacuation, and defecation frequency were significantly improved compared to the placebo group (p < 0.05), and fecal color and odor tended to improve (p = 0.07). In the test food group of all subjects and among the non-functionally constipated subjects, the fecal size tended to improve compared to the placebo group (p = 0.06, p = 0.07, respectively). Lilac LAB was effective in improving bowel movements and fecal properties in functionally constipated persons.

Effects of Prebiotics and Synbiotics on Functional Constipation

“…Subgroup analysis of two studies that used combined treatment with FOS and probiotics showed a significant impact on reducing the occurrence of straining during defecation (SMD: -0.28, 95% CI: -0.45 to -0.12, P < 0.001), with no persisting heterogeneity (I 2 = 0; P = 0.97). Data from these studies [26,30] did not indicate that probiotics had a significant impact on the sensation of incomplete defecation (SMD: 0.45, 95% CI: -0.76 to 1.66, P = 0.47), with significant heterogeneity (I 2 = 94%; P < 0.001). Two studies evaluated the effects of combined FOS and probiotic treatment on bloating.…”

“…Of the remaining 27 which were analyzed in detail, nine studies evaluated prebiotics or synbiotics for other diseases, two studies did not have a control group, two studies had no extractable data, in one study, synbiotics were given with laxative. As a result, we included five RCTs [17,[22][23][24][25] involving 199 patients who used prebiotics and eight RCTs [16,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32] involving 825 patients who used synbiotics. A flow diagram of studies identified in the search is shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Of the 13 included trials, nine used a parallel-group design [16,17,23,24,[26][27][28][29][30] and four used a crossover design [22,25,31,32] . These studies were performed in Argentina [31] , Brazil [17,27,29] , Finland [22,25] , Italy [16] , Iran [26] , Japan [30,32] , Malaysia [28] , Spain [23] , and the United Kingdom [24] . Sample sizes analyzed in the studies ranged from 14 to 266 participants, and follow-up ranged from 7 to 56 days.…”

“…The outcome of each meta-analysis is reported in Table 4. Data regarding stool frequency was reported by seven RCTs [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] representing 794 participants. Synbiotics significantly increased stool frequency by 1.15 bowel movements per week (95% CI: 0.58 to 1.71, P < 0.001), with significant persistent heterogeneity (I 2 = 73%; P = 0.001).…”

“…Stool consistency was measured in five studies [26][27][28]30,31] . One study presented the outcome as a percentage of improvement to hard stools [28] .…”