薬理と治療

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of an oral nutritional supplement drink containing Lactobacillus paracasei MCC1849 on the immune system of elderly people. Methods A randomized open-label trial was conducted from March 2017 to October 2017 on 62 Japanese adult participants（aged≥65 years）who reported of daily fatigue. Participants were equally, but randomly, assigned to either the test or control beverage group（31 in each group） using a computerized random-number generator. They consumed one bottle of their assigned drink each day for 4 weeks. The effects on improving the immune system were assessed based on the immunological vigor scores, a questionnaire, salivary test, blood test, and physical examination at baseline and at 4 weeks. Results Sixty subjects were analyzed as per-protocol set（n＝30 each）. After consuming the drink, immune strength scores in the test beverage group were significantly higher than those in the control beverage group at 4 weeks（P＜0.05）. Furthermore, subjective symptoms such as“Ihave less laugh than before”（P＜0.05）and“There is no definite reason, but I am tired”（P＜0.05）were significantly alleviated. Conclusions Consumption of an oral nutritional supplement drink containing Lactobacillus paracasei MCC1849 for 4 weeks possibly improved the immune system of elderly people by preventing the decline of immune strength and improving quality of life-related subjective symptoms of fatigue. Trial registration UMIN-CTR: UMIN000026387 Foundation Clinico Co., Ltd.