Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Affecting Respiratory Infections and Immune Function in Children

Abstract

The major content of this article is to make a detailed analysis of the effects of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus rhamnosus in pediatric RTI and immune function. 79 healthy children attended in Women’s & Children’s Central Hospital of Chengdu were enrolled. They were partitioned into the probiotic group and the placebo group. The probiotic group was offered with the supplemental probiotic solid beverages (Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus rhamnosus) every day, and this lasted for 12 weeks. The placebo group was offered with the solid beverages without probiotics. Venous peripheral blood was taken on an empty stomach at 0 and 12 weeks, and flow cytometry measured the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ lymphocyte levels and the CD4+/CD8+ ratios in peripheral blood. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detects interleukin-2, IL-8, IL-10, Tumor Necrosis Factor-, Interferon ƒ, IgG, IgM, and IgA levels in peripheral blood. Kaplan-Meier curves analyzed the cumulative probability of first-time RTI during the study. After the study, during the intervention, the probability of RTI, the times of RTI occurrences, the times of colds and the duration of RTI in children from the probiotic group were lower than those from the placebo group. The NK cell activity, immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM), and the CD3+, CD4+/CD8+ T, CD4+ cells increased in the probiotic group, while the CD8+ T cells decreased. In the probiotic group, the IL-10 levels were higher than the levels before the intervention. However, if the results of the placebo group are compared, then none of the above obtained structural data has statistical value. IFN-ƒ levels in the probiotic group were higher than the ones in the placebo group.