2 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The BacterioPHAGE for Gastrointestinal Health-2 study is designed to determine if a commercial bacteriophage product can increase the survival and efficacy of probiotic bacteria that will be concurrently administered. Bacteriophages may act as prebiotics, which are traditionally defined as indigestible dietary components that selectively enhance specific bacterial species in the intestines to confer a health benefit. In this study, the "prebiotic" is a unique combination of bacteriophages, or viruses that infect bacteria. These phages are generally regarded as safe for human consumption and are presumed to function by infecting pro-inflammatory E. coli strains in the gut. The removal of these strains alters the gut environment to allow growth of more favorable bacteria, and the lysis products of these E. coli may be assimilated by beneficial species to enhance their populations.The phage product, PreforPro, has shown to be effective in culture-based and animal studies, but its efficacy in increasing specific probiotic species has not been demonstrated in humans. The investigators have previously shown that PreforPro is both safe and tolerable in a human population and does not broadly disrupt the gut microbiota as would be seen with antibiotic treatment.
The objective of the current study is to evaluate the effect of whole cell fermentate on gut health, including GI system function, such as supporting consistency and regularity of bowel habits, as well as changes in microbiota. The role of the GI system can also be extended to immune regulation because approximately 70% of the entire immune system in the body is located around the gut. Thus, the health and wellbeing of the gut can have a great impact on whole-body health. Therefore, this study will assess the effect on overall immune function.