The effect of Clostridium butyricum on symptoms and fecal microbiota in diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 2964 - 11
• Main Authors: Sun, Yi-Yuan, Li, Ming, Li, Yue-Yue, Li, Li-Xiang, Zhai, Wen-Zhe, Wang, Peng, Yang, Xiao-Xiao, Gu, Xiang, Song, Li-Jin, Li, Zhen, Zuo, Xiu-Li, Li, Yan-Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14.02.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 45/43; 45/91; 631/208/514; 692/4020/1503/1502/2071; Clostridium butyricum; Diarrhea; Double-blind studies; Fecal microflora; Feces; Gastrointestinal diseases; Humanities and Social Sciences; Intestine; Irritable bowel syndrome; Microbiota; multidisciplinary; Probiotics; Quality of life; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21241-z

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder in gastrointestinal system and impairs the quality of life of the patients. Clostridium butyricum ( CB ) is a probiotics that has been used in several gastrointestinal diseases. The efficacy of CB in treating IBS is still unknown. This prospective, multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of CB in treating diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) and analyze the fecal microbiota after treatment. Two hundred patients with IBS-D were recruited and were given CB or placebo for 4 weeks. End points included change from baseline in IBS symptoms, quality of life, stool consistency and frequency. Compared with placebo, CB is effective in improving the overall IBS-D symptoms (−62.12 ± 74.00 vs. −40.74 ± 63.67, P  = 0.038) as well as quality of life (7.232 ± 14.06 vs. 3.159 ± 11.73, P  = 0.032) and stool frequency (−1.602 ± 1.416 vs. −1.086 ± 1.644, P  = 0.035). The responder rates are found higher in CB compared with the placebo (44.76% vs. 30.53%, P  = 0.042). The change in fecal microbiota was analyzed and function pathways of CB in treating IBS-D were predicted. In conclusion, CB improves overall symptoms, quality of life and stool frequency in IBS-D patients and is considered to be used as a probiotics in treating IBS-D clinically.