Evaluation of the impact of a biscuit containing the probiotics Bifidobacterium longum Bar33 and Lactobacillus helveticus Barl3 on the intestinal microbiota in the elderly.

Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Thirty-two elderly volunteers living in Italy. The group was composed of 19 women and 13 men aged between 71 and 88 years (mean 76).

Subjects were randomized in two groups consuming one dose of the probiotics-containing biscuit or placebo once a day for 30 days.

For each subject the intestinal microbiota was characterized using the phylogenetic microarray platform HTF-Microbi. Array before and after intervention.

Our data demonstrated that one-month consumption of a probiotics-containing biscuit was effective in redressing some of the age-related dysbioses of the intestinal microbiota. In particular, the probiotic treatment reverted the age-related increase of the opportunistic pathogens Clostridium cluster XI, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecium and the enteropathogenic genus Campylobacter.

The present study opens the way to the development of elderly-tailored probiotic-based functional foods to counteract the age-related dysbioses of the intestinal microbiota.