Could barley drink ease colitis?
New research shows a daily probiotic helps improve symptoms of a condition that affects 146,000 UK sufferers, writes LAURA MILNE
APROBIOTIC drink made from barley and costing just £ 2.60 per day could reduce gut inflammation and improve the lives of ulcerative colitis ( UC) sufferers, according to a new study. Around 146,000 Britons struggle with the lifelong relapsing- remitting condition which is characterised by acute flare- ups of diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Researchers from King’s College Hospital in London and Darent Valley Hospital in Kent conducted a randomised, double- blind, placebo- controlled trial of a water- based drink which contained multiple strains of live and active bacteria on 80 patients with clinically stable inflammatory bowel disease.
The results revealed that the patients experienced significant reductions in their levels of calprotectin, a protein released by white blood cells in the intestine when it is inflamed.
The findings suggest that the drink, Symprove, may help patients with UC to remain in remission.
“This is an interesting result showing that Symprove reduces intestinal inflammation in this group of patients, without any observed side effects,” says consultant gastroenterologist Professor Ingvar Bjarnason, who led the study.
“There is now a need to see if these reductions in intestinal inflammation are maintained with long- term ingestion and whether this reduces the incidence of symptom flare- ups.”
Treatments for UC include steroids, immune suppressants and more recently biologic therapies. Yet there remains a need for effective maintenance treatments to prevent relapses.
Previous trials on Symprove, which is made by growing bacteria on barley, found it helped combat irritable bowel syndrome ( IBS) symptoms including bloating, constipation and cramping pain.
A study at Kings College Hospital on 186 patients with moderate to severe IBS found that over three months it significantly reduced the severity of a range of symptoms.
Last year researchers at University College London investigated whether popular probiotic drinks and supplements contained as many live bacteria as claimed on the label, whether the bugs survived when they passed through the stomach and then if they flourished in the gut.
Symprove, which contains four strains of live bacteria, was the only product in the trial to pass all three challenges. A typical dose is one millilitre per kilo of body weight and a three- month course is recommended initially.
A four- bottle pack of Symprove which should last around a month costs £ 79 and is available from symprove. com/ 01252 413 600.