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

Faecal concentrations of Lactobacillus GG in human subjects were studi ed after oral administration of the bacterium Lactobacillus GG was giv en in total to 44 healthy human volunteers for 7 d as enterocoated tab lets with daily doses of 1 x 10(9) c.f.u., 4 x 10(9) and 8 x 10(9) c.f u. 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 t he test period. There were no statistical differences in mean faecal L actobacillus GG contents between the tablet groups. With fermented mil k there was a clear, statistically significant increase in mean faecal Lactobacillus GG content when the administration was 1.2 x 10(10) c.f u./d compared to 2-1 x 10(9) c.fu./d. The results indicate that fermen ted milk and enterocoated tablets are good carriers for administering Lactobacillus GG as a probiotic organism.