Probiotics Protect Liver

KUOPIO, Finland--Certain strains of probiotic bacteria block intestinal absorption of aflatoxin fungus, thereby leading to reduced urinary excretion of an aflatoxin metabolite associated with liver cancer (Am J Clin Nutr, 83, 5:1199-1203, 2006).

Researchers from several universities in Finland randomly assigned healthy young men (n=90) to two groups; the first received a mixture of Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 and Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermani strains twice daily for five weeks, and the other group received a placebo preparation. The subjects provided urine samples at baseline, three weeks and five weeks of supplementation, and at the end of the study. Subjects given probiotics had significantly lower urinary levels of fungal metabolite than those given placebo (a 36 percent reduction at week three and a 55 percent reduction at week five). The geometric means for the probiotic and placebo groups were 0.24 and 0.49 ng/mL of aflatoxin metabolite, respectively, during the intervention period.

The researchers concluded a probiotic supplement reduces the biologically effective dose of aflatoxin exposure and may thereby offer an effective dietary approach to decrease the risk of liver cancer.

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