05.01.06
BioGaia AB, Raleigh, NC, has been granted a U.S. patent related to the anti-inflammatory use of certain strains of probiotic lactobacilli. A specific area where the use of anti-inflammatory lactobacilli is of interest is inflammation associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. H. pylori in the stomach can lead to gastritis and ulcers, and in some cases stomach cancer. Anti-inflammatory lactobacilli can counteract such damaging inflammation. In studies, BioGaia’s researchers showed that L. reuteri survives and colonizes the human stomach and there directly reduces the number of H. pylori bacteria, which reduces the level of infection.