IMUNI Specialised Probiotics+ 30 Capsules

Benefits:

IMMUNITY + RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS + IBS + STRESS RELIEF

IMUNI Specialised Probiotics+ is a premium, high-quality blend of probiotics designed to support the immune system to fight illness; reduce the occurrence of symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections in healthy individuals, and relieve symptoms of medically diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome. Lemon balm is traditionally used in Western herbal medicine to relieve symptoms of mild anxiety and stress, as well as digestive discomfort, indigestion, abdominal cramping, bloating and distension.

• Supports the immune system to fight illness
• Reduces the occurrence of symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections in healthy individuals
• Relieves symptoms of medically diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome
• Relieve symptoms of mild anxiety and stress

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that are capable of promoting positive health outcomes when consumed in sufficient amounts, generally by improving or restoring intestinal flora. The term intestinal flora refers to the ‘good bacteria’ that naturally reside in the gut, the composition of which is commonly called the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is often considered a virtual organ with incredible diversity that exhibits numerous important health functions.

Specific microorganisms that comprise the gut microbiome confer multiple health benefits. They may do this in a number of ways including:

• Preventing growth of pathogenic or ‘disease-causing’ microorganisms
• Improving digestion and nutrient absorption
• Regulating immune system function
• Enhancing gut motility and barrier function
• Producing beneficial metabolites (including substances like lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide which inhibit growth of pathogenic organisms)
• Producing vitamins (e.g. vitamins K, B1, B2, B6, B12)
• Forming a ‘colonisation barrier’ by binding to the intestinal mucosa and preventing pathogens from adhering to the gut wall
• Binding directly to viruses (e.g. rotavirus) thereby preventing some mucosa-associated viral infections1

It is important to note that not all probiotics are considered equal and specific probiotic strains may exhibit different beneficial effects. A growing body of scientific evidence continues to favour certain probiotic strains over others in terms of their ability to promote beneficial health outcomes. Below is a summary of the evidence behind specific probiotic strains selected for inclusion in the IMUNI Specialised Probiotics+ formula.

IMUNI Specialised Probiotics+ is suitable for: 

For adults only

Directions:

Take 1 capsule daily for immune health and general probiotic maintenance.

Take 2 capsules daily to relieve symptoms of IBS, mild anxiety, stress, and upper respiratory tract infections.

Ingredients:

Each Vegan capsule contains: Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ibSium®) 250mg, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG 10 billion CFU, Lactobacillus plantarum 10 billion CFU, Bifidobacterium lactis BI-04 1 billion CFU, Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) leaf ext. dry conc 187.5mg from dry leaf 750mg.

All ingredients are vegetarian and vegan friendly. This product does not contain animal products, dairy, lactose, gluten, nuts or genetically modified ingredients (GMO-free).

Free from:

• Animal products
• Artificial colours
• Flavours or sweeteners
• Gluten
• Lactose
• Nuts
• Soy
• Sulfites
• Added sugars

Warning and Disclaimers:

If symptoms persist or worsen talk to your medical practitioner. Not for use in children under 2 years. Store below 25°C. IMUNI recommends refrigerating after opening. Do not use if tamper evidence seal is broken.

FAQ: 

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (‘LGG’, reference strain ATCC 53103, product strain PA-LR66)

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG or ‘LGG’ is one of the most extensively studied probiotic strains in existence. Lactobacilli are able to provide nutritional benefits by inducing growth factors and increasing bioavailability of minerals, as well as producing lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide which inhibit growth of pathogenic microorganisms. Lactobacilli have also been shown to modulate both non-specific (cellular) and humoral (antibody-mediated) immunity. They are thought to do this by stimulating white blood cells including lymphocytes and macrophages, and by modulating cytokine production (cytokines are compounds which play important roles in cell signalling). LGG is one of the probiotic strains that is capable of adhering to the colonic mucosa forming a ‘colonisation barrier’ and thereby preventing pathogenic bacteria from colonising the gut.^1,2

Rotavirus diarrhoea:

A meta-analysis conducted by Szajewska and colleagues in 2007 included 988 individuals in eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and found that supplementation of LGG resulted in a statistically significant reduction in duration of rotavirus diarrhoea by 2.1 days in children (P = 0.006) and reduced the risk of diarrhoea lasting more than seven days by 75% (P = 0.01).1,2 Another meta-analysis of 14 randomised controlled trials assessed whether probiotics including LGG administered to children younger than six years of age assisted in reducing duration of acute rotavirus diarrhoea. The trial found that amongst the trials with data on LGG administration, six clinical trials attained a statistically significant 47% overall reduction in duration of diarrhoea amongst children taking LGG (P = 0.020).³

Travellers’ diarrhoea:

One placebo-controlled RCT investigated the efficacy of LGG in a dose of 2 billion CFU per day for the prevention of travellers’ diarrhoea in 245 subjects travelling from Finland to developing nations. This study found that the risk of developing travellers’ diarrhoea in subjects taking LGG was reduced by 47% compared to placebo.²

Acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTI):

LGG is also the most well studied lactobacillus species for the prevention of upper respiratory tract infection. One meta-analysis concluded that giving LGG to infants and children reduces the risk of developing URTI by about 38%.2 One large clinical trial showed that children aged 1 to 6 drinking milk containing LGG had less frequent and less severe URTIs while attending day care centres. This randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial assessed 281 children taking LGG at a dose of 10 billion CFU per day for 3 months. This resulted in a significant reduction in the risk of developing URTI (P = <0.001); a lower risk of URTI episodes lasting longer than 3 days (P = <0.001); and a reduced rate of absence from day care due to infection (P = <0.001). Children who received placebo had 2.88 times greater chance of developing URTI than children who received LGG (P = <0.001).⁴

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (including IBS) in children

Functional gastrointestinal disorders refers to a group of gastrointestinal disorders without underlying organic pathology and includes: functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), abdominal migraine and functional abdominal pain. A systematic review conducted by Horvath et al (2011) found that giving LGG at doses of 1 to 3 billion CFU per day for 4 to 8 weeks in children under the age of 18, resulted in a significantly higher rate of children reporting no pain or reduction in pain intensity. The results of this meta-analysis demonstrated that use of LGG was particularly beneficial in reducing pain in children suffering from IBS, among which LGG was shown to reduce the frequency and intensity of abdominal pain.⁵ An RCT conducted in 2007 compared LGG to placebo in 104 children between 6 and 16 years of age and found that LGG administered at a dose of 3 billion CFU taken twice per day moderately increased the likelihood of children with IBS becoming pain-free compared to placebo (33% vs 5%).⁶

Antibiotic associated diarrhoea:

LGG is the most extensively studied strain for the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhoea. Clinical research has demonstrated that regular use of LGG probiotics while taking antibiotics can reduce the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea by about 60 to 71%. However, for this purpose it may be more effective in children than in adults.2 A meta-analysis published in 2013 concluded that taking LGG at doses of up to 10 billion CFU daily was significantly protective against antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in children with a pooled risk reduction of 74% (P = 0.002). Amongst 16 clinical trials testing LGG at doses of less than 10 billion CFU per day, the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea was 7.3%, compared to an incidence rate of 15.9% in the placebo group (P < 0.001).⁷

*NB: p value less than 0.05 suggests that the likelihood of these results being due to chance alone is very unlikely

Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (strain Bl-04)

This particular probiotic strain has a substantial amount of evidence supporting its effectiveness in reducing the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in healthy adults. An Australian study conducted in 2014 included 465 healthy Australian adults aged between 24 to 48 years old in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial to assess whether Bl-04 at a dose of 2 billion CFU per day would assist in reducing incidence of URTI. The trial assessed daily use of Bl-04 over 5 months and found that it resulted in a 27% risk reduction in URTI episodes in the Bl-04 group compared to placebo (P = 0.02). On average, subjects taking placebo encountered symptoms of URTI 0.7 months earlier than those taking Bl-04. In total, there were 59 single episodes and 43 recurrent episodes of URTI in the Bl-04 group and 67 single episodes and 60 recurrent episodes in the placebo group over the 5 month study duration.⁸

*NB: p value less than 0.05 suggests that the likelihood of these results being due to chance alone is very unlikely

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ibSium™ strain CNCM I-3856)

ibSium™ is a scientifically tested unique strain of probiotic yeast known as Saccharomyces cerevisae which is backed by clinical trials demonstrating its efficacy in treating symptoms of medically diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial conducted in 2015 assessed the efficacy of ibSium™ in alleviating IBS symptoms in 200 French adults. Participants aged between 18 and 75 years old were given ibSium™ 500mg daily for 13 weeks. A significantly higher percentage of subjects reported improvement in abdominal pain and discomfort in the treatment group compared to placebo, with almost two-thirds (62.8%) of participants reporting improvement in pain score in the group treated with ibSium™ (62.8% treatment group vs 47.3% placebo group, P = 0.04).⁹

Another randomised controlled trial conducted in 2020 assessed efficacy of ibSium™ as ‘add-on therapy’ in conjunction to standard IBS treatment in 100 adults randomly allocated to receive ibSium™ or placebo for 8 weeks. Participants in the treatment group (n = 52) were given ibSium™ 250mg twice per day, in addition to two weeks of ‘standard care’ including loperamide (anti-diarrhoeal medication) for IBS subjects experiencing diarrhoea, or dicyclomine (an anti-spasmodic/anti-cramping medication) for IBS subjects experiencing constipation. Participants in the placebo group (n = 48) were given standard care for 2 weeks in addition to placebo twice a day for 8 weeks. A statistically significant improvement in abdominal pain scores was observed at both 4 and 8 weeks in all subjects given ibSium™, regardless of the subtype of IBS symptoms (diarrhoea-predominant, constipation-predominant, or mixed), compared to the group given placebo. Improvements in stool consistency were also observed in the group treated with ibSium™ compared to placebo.¹⁰

*NB: p value less than 0.05 suggests that the likelihood of these results being due to chance alone is very unlikely

Lactobacillus plantarum (product strain PA-LP10)

A number of clinical trials have demonstrated beneficial effects of Lactobacillus plantarum in improving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. One of the most widely tested strains is Lactobacillus plantarum 299v, the benefits of which have been replicated in multiple clinical trials which have demonstrated its ability to improve symptoms of IBS. In one randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted by Ducrotté et al in 2012, L. plantarum 299v was shown to reduce symptoms of bloating as well as pain severity and frequency. 214 patients with IBS were randomised to receive either placebo or L. plantarum 299v at a dose of 1 capsule containing 10 billion CFU per day for 4 weeks. Both abdominal pain severity and frequency were significantly lower in the L. plantarum group as early as the second week of treatment. 78.1% of patients in the treatment group reported ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ improvement in symptoms, compared to only 8.1% of patients claiming a similar effect in the placebo group (p < 0.01).¹¹

*NB: p value less than 0.05 suggests that the likelihood of these results being due to chance alone is very unlikely

Lemon balm (aka. Melissa officinalis)

Lemon balm is a lemon-scented herb that belongs to the mint family of plants and is also known by its scientific name Melissa officinalis. It has a long history of traditional use in Western herbal medicine to relieve symptoms of mild anxiety and stress, as well as digestive discomfort, indigestion, abdominal cramping, bloating and distension. It is now well established that stress and anxiety can aggravate symptoms of IBS and a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach to treating IBS should therefore focus largely on addressing and alleviating symptoms of psychological distress. The unique formula in IMUNI Specialised Probiotics+ includes Lemon balm due to Traditional and empirical evidence indicating it may play a role in addressing symptoms of both IBS and stress.¹²

A small randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 18 healthy volunteers assessed the efficacy of Lemon balm in attenuating laboratory-induced stress. The results of the trial suggest that a single dose of Lemon balm might be effective in moderating feelings of stress without adversely affecting cognitive performance.13 The results of this study back up findings from previous small-scale studies demonstrating beneficial effects of Lemon balm on both mood and cognitive performance.^14,15

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FAQs - IMUNI Specialised Probiotics+

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