The impact of meals on a probiotic during transit through a model of the human upper gastrointestinal tract
Open accessAbstract
Commercial literature on various probiotic products suggests that they can be taken before meals, during meals or after meals or even without meals. This has led to serious confusion for the industry and the consumer. The objective of our study was to examine the impact of the time of administration with respect to mealtime and the impact of the buffering capacity of the food on the survival of probiotic microbes during gastrointestinal transit. We used an in vitro Digestive System (IViDiS) model of the upper gastrointestinal tract to examine the survival of a commercial multi-strain probiotic, ProtecFlor®. This product, in a capsule form, contains four different microbes: two lactobacilli ( Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011), Bifidobacterium longum R0175 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii . Enumeration during and after transit of the stomach and duodenal models showed that survival of all the bacteria in the product was best when given with a meal or 30 minutes before a meal (cooked oatmeal with milk). Probiotics given 30 minutes after the meal did not survive in high numbers. Survival in milk with 1% milk fat and oatmeal-milk gruel were significantly better than apple juice or spring water. S. boulardii was not affected by time of meal or the buffering capacity of the meal. The protein content of the meal was probably not as important for the survival of the bacteria as the fat content. We conclude that ideally, non-enteric coated bacterial probiotic products should be taken with or just prior to a meal containing some fats.
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In the same in vitro study, consumption of the probiotic with 1% milk and oatmeal-milk gruel allowed for higher bacteria survival than with apple juice or spring water.
“Additionally, this study reported that consumption of the probiotic with 1% milk and oatmeal-milk gruel allowed for higher bacteria survival than when consumed with apple juice or spring water.”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics (2019) · cites this paper as [287]
In an in vitro digestive model, probiotic consumption 30 min before a meal or with a meal resulted in high bacterial survival, while consumption 30 min after a meal did not.
“Results of this investigation showed that when a probiotic was consumed 30 min before a meal or with a meal, the bacteria survived in high numbers. Conversely, when the probiotic was taken 30 min after a meal, the bacteria did not survive in high numbers.”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics (2019) · cites this paper as [287]
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International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics
Jäger, R., Mohr, A. E., Carpenter, K. C., Kerksick, C. M., Purpura, M., Moussa, A., Townsend, J. R., Lamprecht, M., West, N. P., Black, K., et al. (2019) · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · doi:10.1186/s12970-019-0329-0 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
Araújo, M. M., & Botelho, P. B. (2022) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.935830 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
- Authors
- Tompkins, T., Mainville, I., & Arcand, Y.
- Affiliations
- Institut Rosell Inc., 6100 avenue Royalmount, Montreal, H4P 2R2 Quebec, Canada
- Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre (CA)
- Venue
- Beneficial Microbes
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2011-12-01
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 295-303
- ISSN
- 1876-2883 (ISSN-L)
- 1876-2891
- OpenAlex
- W1999879328
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Beneficial Microbes (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
- Keywords
- probiotics, time of administration, mealtime, gastrointestinal transit, probiotic viability, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium longum, Saccharomyces boulardii, milk fat, oatmeal
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Eating, Humans, Models, Theoretical, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Colony Count, Microbial, Probiotics, Upper Gastrointestinal Tract, Microbial Viability
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