DOSE-RESPONSE ON THE FECAL COLONIZATION OF LACTOBACILLUS STRAIN GG ADMINISTERED IN 2 DIFFERENT FORMULATIONS

Faecal concentrations of Lactobacillus GG in human subjects were studied after oral administration of the bacterium Lactobacillus GG was given in total to 44 healthy human volunteers for 7 d as enterocoated tablets with daily doses of 1 x 10(9) c.f.u., 4 x 10(9) and 8 x 10(9) c.fu. and in fermented milk with daily doses of 2.1 x 10(9) c.fu. and 1.2 x 10(10) c.fu. All the volunteers excreted the organism by day 3 of the test period. There were no statistical differences in mean faecal Lactobacillus GG contents between the tablet groups. With fermented milk there was a clear, statistically significant increase in mean faecal Lactobacillus GG content when the administration was 1.2 x 10(10) c.fu./d compared to 2-1 x 10(9) c.fu./d. The results indicate that fermented milk and enterocoated tablets are good carriers for administering Lactobacillus GG as a probiotic organism.