Probiotics and Immune Health: Benefits of Bacillus coagulans

Introduction to Probiotics and Their Health Applications

A human body contains billions of beneficial bacteria. For some time, researchers have been finding that the microorganisms known as probiotics may provide some of the same health benefits that naturally occurring bacteria do in the body, such as aiding with digestive problems and offering protection against harmful bacteria. Probiotics can be found in foods such as yogurt, fermented and unfermented milk, soy products, and some juices, as well as in dietary supplements.

Researchers have been studying whether taking probiotics in food or supplement form can help treat or prevent a range of illnesses, including vaginal yeast infections, urinary tract infections, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bladder cancer recurrence, intestinal infections, inflammation following colon surgery (pouchitis), and eczema in children.

Safety of Bacillus coagulans GanedenBC30

Studies have found that probiotic strains are generally safe for human consumption. Most food manufacturers must prove that the ingredients they include in their products are safe, but few probiotic manufacturers have been able to cite safety testing on their particular probiotic strains. Instead, they have typically referred to the established history of safe use of probiotic strains in general.

The results of a study published in the May issue of Food and Chemical Toxicology found that the probiotic strain GanedenBC30 (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086) is safe for human consumption, even in very large amounts. This study paves the way for incorporating GanedenBC30 into a wide variety of foods. Unlike many other probiotic strains, GanedenBC30 easily survives the challenges of food manufacturing, extreme temperatures, and the gastric environment.

Data from the study showed that administering GanedenBC30 to rats at nearly 100,000 times the recommended human dose produced no harmful effects — figures that are unprecedented in toxicology studies of this type (Endres et al., 2009).

Probiotics and Immune Response to Influenza A

A further study published in the Postgraduate Medicine journal found that using probiotics may help fight a potential flu pandemic in a natural way. The researchers found that a specific strain of probiotics — similar to the "friendly" bacteria found naturally in the body's digestive system — also increases the body's immune response to the flu virus, particularly to influenza A. The widely publicized swine flu, also known as H1N1, is a variant of influenza A. The study's results show that taking probiotics on a regular basis can enhance the immune system in a way that helps the body fight influenza A.

The probiotic strain Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, PTA-6086 was found to cause significant increases in T-cell production of TNF-alpha — a key immune system activity marker — when healthy adults were exposed to influenza (Baron, 2009).

The researchers measured changes in blood TNF-alpha levels in ten healthy adult volunteers before and after they took daily doses of the probiotic strain Bacillus coagulans GanedenBC30, found in various dietary supplements. Participants were then exposed to the influenza A virus. The results showed a highly significant 1,709% increase in TNF-alpha levels upon viral challenge after participants had taken the probiotic for approximately one month. This dramatic initial increase in the body's production of TNF-alpha in response to viral exposure demonstrates a heightened immunological response targeted at protection against infection.

Although the study did not directly evaluate an immune response to the specific swine flu virus (H1N1), there is good reason to conclude that Bacillus coagulans could boost the body's natural defenses against a variety of flu viruses, including swine flu. The study supports the long-suspected belief about the beneficial effects of GanedenBC30 on the immune system and adds to the growing body of evidence that probiotics can benefit both healthy individuals and those with specific health conditions. While additional research is needed to determine whether this translates into reduced hospitalizations and deaths, it represents a healthy, low-cost, and proactive measure that carries no known risks.