15: 15 Á/22 Fermented milk products containing the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010 (BM) have a beneficial effect in reducing gut transit times in a range of populations including adults and the elderly, especially female. The aims of this study were to investigate the efficacy of one and two servings per day of BM in elderly subjects and to determine the duration of the reduction in transit times after stopping consumption of the product. This was a randomized controlled

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... open study with four groups; 200 elderly subjects (aged 50 Á/75 years) were enrolled in the trial. In all, 100 subjects with medium transit times (MTT, 40 Á/50 h) and 100 with slow transit times (STT, /50 h) were randomized to receive either 125 g or 250 g BM daily for 2 weeks. Oro-faecal gut transit was determined by the use of coloured markers. Both dosages significantly reduced oro-faecal transit time with reductions of 20.5% and 42.2% observed in MTT subjects receiving BM 125 g/ day and 250 g/day, respectively (p B/0.0001). Corresponding reductions in STT subjects were 27.7% and 38.1%, respectively. The beneficial effects of BM lasted long after consumption of the product was stopped, with values returning to baseline in subjects with MTT at 6 weeks follow-up and in STT subjects consuming 125 g/day BM at 4 weeks follow-up. Significant differences in transit times were still observed at week 6 of follow-up in STT subjects receiving 250 g/day BM. This study completes and confirms the dose-dependent effects of BM from 0 to 250 g per day and can be compared with similar results obtained with 250 to 375g per day in a previous study on transit times in elderly subjects. It also demonstrates that there are significant beneficial effects long after consumption of the product has stopped. The results suggest an important role for this probiotic dairy product in fundamentally modulating gastrointestinal function that could beneficially affect the host, and hence reduce the susceptibility to conditions associated with delayed gut transit.