Probiotic formula reduced symptoms of colic in recent study

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A recent study¹ found that supplementation with AB-Biotics’ (Barcelona, Spain) probiotic formula called AB-Kolicare significantly improved symptoms of colic in infants. In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 112 exclusively breastfed and mixed fed infants less than two months of age received either placebo or the probiotic formula daily for 21 days. AB-Kolicare is composed of a mix of Bifidobacterium longum CECT7894 (KABP042) and Pediococcus pentosaceus CECT8330 (KABP041) at 1 × 109 colony forming units. Results showed that, compared to placebo, infants taking the probiotic formula has significantly shorter crying time at days seven (38 minutes/day vs. 62 minutes/day), 14 (20 minutes/day vs. 50 minutes/day), and 21 (14 minutes/day vs. 40 minutes/day), as well as improved stool consistency on day 21.

“Colic can be an extremely distressing experience, for both babies and their families,” said Jordi Riera, chief business development officer for AB-Biotics, in a press release. “Emerging research shows that babies with infant colic have a different microbiota composition than those without. For instance, the presence of Bifidobacterium – beneficial bacteria that digest dietary fiber, help to prevent infection, and produce vitamins – is just 0.3% in colic babies, compared to 10% in non-colic infants. This suggests that gut microbiota may play an important role in the development of the condition and explains why probiotics are being explored as a potential treatment due to their gut-strengthening properties. In this study, the probiotic solution contained a strain of B. longum, which is a Human Resident Bifidobacteria (HRB) and one of the most common Bifidobacteria in healthy infants. This is significant since most other probiotic solutions for infants contain non-HRB such as B. animalis.”

Reference

1. Chen K et al. “Infantile colic treated with Bifidobacterium longum CECT7894 and Pediococcus pentosaceusCECT8330: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.” Frontiers in Pediatrics, Published online ahead of print on September 10, 2021