Bacteria

Biology

Laxative

Diarrhea

Probiotic

Constipation

Food science

Genetics

Loperamide

Lactobacillus

Defecation

Lactic acid

Lactobacillus plantarum

Microbiology

Internal medicine

Feces

Medicine

Chemistry

Gastroenterology

Fermentation

Streptococcus thermophilus

Food Research International

The fecal morphology, defecation frequency, bowel function, intestinal motility, and fecal bacterial composition were evaluated to investigate the laxative effect of probiotic chocolate containing Streptococcus thermophilus MG510 and Lactobacillus plantarum LRCC5193 (LYC) on loperamide-induced constipated rats. Daily oral administration of LYC in constipated rats for two weeks was shown to significantly increase (n = 14) the defecation frequency, fecal moisture content, and relative abundance of fecal Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Moreover, histological analysis of the distal colon of constipated rats revealed that LYC treatment can also increase the thickness of the colonic mucosa and muscle layers, and crypt of Lieberkühn. LYC also significantly increased (n = 5) the intestinal motility and modulated (n = 9) mRNA expression levels of colonic ZO-1 and Cldn-1 in the constipated rats. Altogether, these results demonstrate that probiotic chocolate has potential as a dietary adjunct for the treatment of constipation.

Laxative effect of probiotic chocolate on loperamide-induced constipation in rats