Single-blind follow-up study on the effectiveness of a symbiotic preparation in irritable bowel syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Experimental and clinical studies have shown that a novel symbiotic (known as SCM‐III) exerts a beneficial effect on gut translocation and local and systemic inflammatory and microbial metabolic parameters. The present investigation was a preliminary trial on the effectiveness of SCM‐III for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). METHODS: Sixty‐eight consecutive adult patients with IBS who were free from lactose malabsorption, abdominal surgery, overt psychiatric disorders and ongoing psychotropic drug therapy or ethanol abuse were studied prospectively and divided into 2 groups that were comparable for age, gender, body size, education and pattern of presenting symptoms. The 2 groups were blindly given for 12 weeks either SCM‐III 10 mL t.i.d or the same dosage of heat‐inactivated symbiotic. RESULTS: Treatment with SCM‐III was ‘effective’ or ‘very effective’ in more than 80% of the patients (P