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Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™: a probiotic alternative to traditional intestinal pain killers?
December 12th, 2006: Today in Nature Medicine, researchers from Inserm (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and Danisco uncover the results of their study demonstrating for the first time that the oral administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ mediates analgesic functions in the gut equivalent to morphine effects.
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Danisco, suggest that the microbiology of the intestinal tract influences visceral pain perception and open new perspectives in the treatment of abdominal pain and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) with this unique probiotic strain.
“ When we put intestinal epithelial cells in contact with various lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ induce a significant expression of µ opioid receptor (MOR) and receptors for cannabinoid (CB2) that exert an analgesic effect”, says Pr Desreumaux*, principal author of the study. ”One could envision NCFM to be prescribed for intestinal functional disorders or co-administrated with morphine to relieve serious gastrointestinal pathologies, therefore reducing the morphine doses and related side effects.”
Marketed worldwide under the name HOWARU™ Dophilus by Danisco, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ is one of the world’s most tested probiotic strains. It is backed by extensive scientific documentation that proves its gut health benefits as well as its long-term stability. In view of today’s findings, Danisco plans to develop HOWARU™ Dophilus in new commercial applications with selected partners from the pharmaceutical, dietary supplement and food industries.
In addition to its unique ability to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract and its adherence to intestinal mucosa, HOWARU™ Dophilus is the only commercially available Lactobacillus acidophilus with a fully sequenced annoted genome.
Abdominal or intestinal pain is a common symptom among the population worldwide with 10 to 20%** of adults, particularly women suffering from intestinal functional disorders, also known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
* Head of the Department of Gastrointestinal Diseases and Nutrition at Lille Hospital, France and Research Director at Inserm
** Worldwide prevalence figures from the World Health Organization
HOWARU™ is a registered trademark of Danisco A/S NCFM™ is a registered trademark of North Carolina State University with global marketing rights exclusively licensed to Danisco
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