The study, published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements, also revealed that supplementation with the formula, known as KABP Mature Immune Defense and marketed as INNERIM, may offer additional benefits such as stress relief.
These findings add to the substantial body of evidence for the probiotic blend’s ability to support the gastrointestinal (GI) health, immunity and quality of life of older people.
“The metabolic and physiological processes that drive digestion slow down with age, which means that altered bowel function, including constipation, is a common health concern for older or elderly people,” comments Dr Maria Rodriguez-Palmero Seuma, Medical Director at AB-BIOTICS and coauthor of the study.
“This can have negative impacts on the quality of life for many older adults and put strain on both social and healthcare systems.”
“Many of these consumers are dissatisfied with the over-the-counter remedies that are currently available to help them manage their constipation, since solutions such as laxatives and fibre supplements often provide unpredictable and incomplete relief from symptoms.”
“As the findings of this new study demonstrate, probiotics such as our INNERIM blend offer an attractive, safe and effective alternative for older people managing altered bowel habits.”
In the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 70 healthy adults aged 50–80 years (median = 58) who were experiencing straining during defecation and hard stool consistency received a daily dose of L. plantarum KABP 031 and L. plantarum KABP 032 (≥1x109 CFU) or a placebo for 84 days.
Participants also took a daily multivitamin and kept a diary to track bowel habits and levels of stress and well-being, with diary data collected and analysed at baseline, after 42 and 84 days.
Participants in the probiotic group had significant increases in BM frequency by 2.08 ± 2.52 and 2.07 ± 2.93 BMs/week after 42 and 84 days, with values being higher than in the placebo group at day 42.
Supplementation also led to marked improvements in stool consistency – from an average Bristol Stool Scale (BSS) score of 2.31 at baseline (≤2 is indicative of constipation), to more than 3 (within the healthy range) at both the 42 and 84 day timepoints, with values being higher than in the placebo group at day 42.
By comparison, the placebo group saw no significant improvements in stool consistency. Additionally, after 42 days, participants in the probiotic group saw a significant decrease in the percentage of bowel movements per week that were classed as constipation (BSS ≤2).
As a secondary endpoint, the participants’ stress levels were also measured using the validated Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
Emerging evidence reveals an important two-way relationship, where stress can negatively impact the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota (manifesting in gut disturbances such as constipation), and probiotic supplementation has been reported to improve stress scores.
In this current study, researchers found that PSS scores were significantly improved compared with baseline after 84 days of probiotic supplementation and the proportion of participants in the probiotic group with “moderate” stress scores was significantly lower than in the placebo group (9.4% vs 37.9%).
These improvements in perceived stress may be because of improvements to overall digestive health but could also indicate an influence on the gut-brain axis, although this would require further investigation to determine.
Rodriguez-Palmero Seuma summarises: “There is a growing body of evidence to show how the Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KABP 031 and KABP 032, probiotic blend can support consumers older than 50 across multiple aspects of health and well-being.”
“The blend has previously been shown to improve gastrointestinal transit and nutritional status in elderly adults."
"What’s more, another clinical trial found that supplementation with this mixture enhanced systemic immunity, with the potential to support vaccination responses in the elderly — further emphasising its precision targeting for elderly populations. We’re excited to continue building on this science and supporting healthy ageing for older adults.”
