Research project led by Bailey Hanna, MS, RDN - no affiliate links, ads or sponsored products.
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial explored the impact of this 4-strain probiotic delivered via a liquid barley extract at 1 ml/kg/day over 12 weeks. The study, which was of reasonable quality and included a sufficiently large population, reported beneficial effects on bowel habits, global IBS symptoms, and pain, as measured by the IBS Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS). However, the effect sizes for these improvements were mostly small to moderate. No significant changes were observed for bloating or IBS-related quality of life.
Key Takeaway
This 4-strain probiotic blend may offer slight improvements in IBS symptoms related to bowel habits, overall IBS symptoms, and pain, according to evidence from one clinical trial. However, it does not appear to significantly impact bloating or the quality of life for IBS sufferers.
Dosing:
Trial Duration
Reference:
Sisson G, Ayis S, Sherwood RA, Bjarnason I. Randomised clinical trial: A liquid multi-strain probiotic vs. placebo in the irritable bowel syndrome–a 12 week double-blind study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2014 Jul;40(1):51-62. [doi: 10.1111/apt.12787]
Evaluate products based on whether they transparently disclose all ingredients and their amounts, exclusively use probiotics tested in randomized placebo-controlled trials in IBS populations, and contain studied doses.
This probiotic has higher quality studies in IBS populations supporting it. View our evidence evaluation framework to learn how we assess the quality of studies.
Add condition
Randomised clinical trial: A liquid multi-strain probiotic vs. placebo in the irritable bowel syndrome–a 12 week double-blind study
Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2014 Jul;40(1):51-62
ADULTS
No data
The probiotic group experienced a mean reduction in IBS-SSS bowel habit scores of −15.0 (SD 22.63). The mean difference compared to placebo (95% CI) was −10.4 (−17.71, −3.16), with a p-value of 0.01.
We calculated an effect size of 0.52 for this parameter, which is at the threshold for being classified as a moderate degree of effect.
The mean change in IBS-SSS was −63.3 for the probiotic group compared to −28.3 for the placebo group. The mean difference in IBS-SSS was statistically significant [−35.0 (95% CI; −62.03, −7.87); p=0.01].
We calculated an effect size of 0.37 for this parameter, classifying the improvements in global IBS symptoms as having the lowest degree of effect.
The probiotic group experienced a mean reduction in pain score on the IBS-SSS of -28.0 (SD 47.49). The mean difference compared to placebo (95% CI) was −19.2 (−36.77, −1.62), with a p-value of 0.03.
We calculated an effect size of 0.32 for this parameter, classifying the improvements in pain score as having the lowest degree of effect.
There was no statistically significant improvement in bloating compared to the placebo group (p=0.23).
There were no significant improvements for IBS-QOL.
The sample size was very good, but some of the effects detected were extremely small.