Lactococcus lactis Strain Plasma Intake Suppresses the Incidence of Dengue Fever-like Symptoms in Healthy Malaysians: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 13; no. 12; p. 4507
• Main Authors: Khor, Chee-Sieng, Tsuji, Ryohei, Lee, Hai-Yen, Nor'e, Siti-Sarah, Sahimin, Norhidayu, Azman, Adzzie-Shazleen, Tiong, Vunjia, Hasandarvish, Pouya, Teoh, Boon-Teong, Soh, Yih-Harng, Chai, Jian-Hai, Kokubo, Takeshi, Kanauchi, Osamu, Yamamoto, Naoki, AbuBakar, Sazaly
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.12.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Adult; Clinical trials; Dendritic cells; Dengue - epidemiology; Dengue - prevention & control; Dengue - virology; Dengue fever; dengue virus; Dengue Virus - immunology; Double-Blind Method; Double-blind studies; Female; Fever; Gram-positive bacteria; Humans; Illnesses; Immune system; Infections; Influenza; lactic acid bacteria; Lactococcus lactis; Lactococcus lactis - immunology; LC-Plasma; Malaysia - epidemiology; Male; Muscles; Oral administration; Pain; Placebos; Plasma; Probiotics - administration & dosage; Self evaluation; Signs and symptoms; Subgroups; Treatment Outcome; Vaccines; Vector-borne diseases; Malaysia; Malaya; Lactococcus lactis; LC-Plasma; dengue fever; lactic acid bacteria; dengue virus
• DOI: 10.3390/nu13124507
• ISSN: 2072-6643

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne disease still with no effective treatment or vaccine available. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, parallel-group trial was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of oral intake of strain plasma (LC-Plasma) on the presentation and severity of DF-like symptoms among healthy volunteers. Study participants (320) were assigned into two groups, and consumed either placebo or LC-Plasma tablets (approximately 100 billion cells/day) for 8 weeks. The clinical symptoms of DF were self-recorded through questionnaires, and exposure to DENV was determined by serum antibody and/or DENV antigen tests. No significant differences between groups were observed for exposure to DENV, or the symptomatic ratio. Results obtained showed that participants from the LC-Plasma group reported a significant reduction in the cumulative incidence days of DF-like symptoms, which include fever ( < 0.001), muscle pain ( < 0.005), joint pain ( < 0.001), and pain behind the eyes ( < 0.001), compared to that of the placebo group. Subgroup analysis revealed a significantly ( < 0.05) reduced severity score in the LC-Plasma group when study sites were separately analyzed. Overall, our findings suggest that LC-Plasma supplementation reduces the cumulative days with DF-like symptoms, and the severity of the symptoms. Daily oral intake of LC-Plasma, hence, is shown to mitigate the DF-like symptoms.