Supplementation With a Multi-strain Probiotic Formulation (Bio-Kult®) in the Management of Diarrhea-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome - a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Accumulating evidence supports the view that an imbalance of gut bacteria contributes to IBS, and that increasing the mass of beneficial species may reduce the numbers of pathogenic bacteria and help alleviate symptoms. Methods: In this double-blind trial 360 adult patients with moderate-to-severe symptomatic diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) were randomized to treatment with the multi-strain probiotic (Bio-Kult®; 14 different bacterial strains; 8 billion colony-forming units per day) or placebo for 16 weeks. The change in severity and frequency of abdominal pain was the primary outcome measure.