Clinical Effects of Bifidobacterium Longum Subsp. Infantis YLGB-1496 on Children with Respiratory Symptoms

Pin Li ¹ Uma Mageswary ² Adli Ali ³ Fahisham Taib ⁴ Thai-Hau Koo ⁴ Azianey Yusof ⁵ Hua Jiang ¹ Hanglian Lan ⁶ Weilian Hung ⁷ Min-Tze Liong ² Yumei Zhang ^1*

• ¹ Peking University, Beijing, China
• ² University of Science Malaysia (USM), Penang, Penang, Malaysia
• ³ Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center (UKMMC), Cheras, Malaysia
• ⁴ Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan Darul Naim, Malaysia
• ⁵ Kepala Batas Health Clinic, Kepala Batas, penang, Malaysia
• ⁶ National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
• ⁷ Inner Mongolia Dairy Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effects of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis YLGB-1496 (B.infantis YLGB-1496) on the frequency of respiratory illness symptoms and immunity profiles among toddlers; Methods: In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 12-week intervention study, toddlers with at least 2 respiratory illness symptoms were randomly assigned into the probiotic (YLGB-1496) or placebo group at a 1:1 ratio. Follow-up examinations were conducted at baseline (week 0) and at weeks 6 and 12 of the intervention. The frequency of respiratory illness symptoms was assessed at these time points using validated questionnaires. Oral swabs and fecal samples were collected from participants at weeks 0, 6, and 12 to examine inflammatory cytokines; Results: Among the 120 toddlers initially included in the study, 115 completed the 12-week intervention (58 in the YLGB-1496 group and 57 in the placebo group). The risk of antibiotic use or clinical visits was significantly lower in the YLGB-1496 group than in the placebo group (antibiotic use odds ratio (OR) =0.37 [0.369, 0.372]; clinical visit, OR= 0.743 [0.741, 0.744]), but these differences were nonsignificant after adjusting for other potential confounders (P>0.05). The YLGB-1496 group presented a lower incidence of several respiratory symptoms than the placebo group, including fever (P<0.001), cough (P<0.001), sneezing (P=0.012), nose block (P=0.001), and runny nose (P<0.001). The results also revealed that the salivary cortisol concentration was significantly lower in the YLGB-1496 group than in the placebo group(P=0.026), but no effects on INF-γ, IL-1β, IL-13, IL-4, or IL-10 were detected. Conclusions: B.infantis YLGB-1496 may serve as a potential natural, nonpharmacological strategy for the safe management of respiratory tract issues in toddlers.