Efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactate BL-99 in relieving functional constipation: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Food FunctOct 5, 2026 (epub)
Clinical ResearchGastroenterology
Jiahao Shao, Weilian Hung, Pingping Yin et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99 in 41 patients with functional constipation over 6 weeks. The BL-99 group showed significant reductions in Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms (PAC-SYM) scores, particularly in abdominal discomfort (Δ = 1.8 vs. 0.9, p = 0.007) and pain during defecation (Δ = 2.1 vs. 1.0, p = 0.003).
Key findings
- BL-99 significantly reduced PAC-SYM scores for abdominal discomfort (Δ = 1.8 vs. 0.9, p = 0.007).
- Pain during defecation decreased more in the BL-99 group (Δ = 2.1 vs. 1.0, p = 0.003).
- Improvements in symptoms persisted at the 2-week post-treatment follow-up (p < 0.05).
- Metagenomic analysis showed enrichment of beneficial gut bacteria and suppression of Clostridium species.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that probiotics like BL-99 may provide an effective alternative for managing functional constipation, potentially improving patient quality of life through symptom relief and gut microbiota modulation.