My wife (an epidemiologist) read through a study on probiotics that was released over the winter. Here is the writeup she put together in response.
Review of: “Dietary Probiotics Affect Gastrointestinal Microbiota, Histological Structure and Shell Mineralization in Turtles” by Rawski et al. in PLOS One 2016. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147859
This study of turtles purchased from a commercial pet dealer compared different probiotic mixtures with a control group who did not receive probiotics. I think the first two types of probiotics can be bought commercially. The first type of probiotic is the single species probiotic A (SSPA) with Bacillus subitlis PB6. The second type of probiotic was the single species probiotic B (SSPB) with Bacillus subitlis C-3102. The third type of probiotics was a strange combination of probiotics and potentially dangerous bacteria. That type was called multiple species probiotic (MSP) treatment and it includes 6 different probiotics, 1 type of bacteria—Enterococcus faecium, that causes major infections among humans, and a yeast—Candida pintolepessi that I would also worry about (could potentially cause thrush in people). Before I move on to the results, let’s think about the use of these bacteria in your pets. I wouldn’t want to give any pet bacteria that could cause infections in people, especially pets that kids handle. In the research lab, I have to wear gloves before handling Enterococcus but I doubt your average pet owner wears gloves when giving probiotics to their pet. In short, please do not give Enterococcus to your pets! However, the combination of those other 6 probiotics could have a protective effect (MSP had good results for these turtles) but were not studied without the harmful bacteria.
As for the results, this study found that SSPB with Bacillus subitlis C-3102 improved the structure of the stomach and intestines but turtles who received it excreted more harmful bacteria into their water compared with the other types of probiotics. Thus, the scientists stated that this is also harmful to the pet owners. Therefore, the only tested probiotic that can be recommended is the SSPA with Bacillus subitlis PB6 because it decreased the concentrations of bad bacteria excreted. Yet, even this one wasn’t great. The discussion section of this paper also warns against another type of probiotic called A. municiphila because it exacerbates gut inflammation and supports the development of salmonella infections.
In short, I believe the current mixture of the MSP probiotic is dangerous to administer, and the SSPB with Bacillus subitlis C-3102 is dangerous to clean up after (harmful bacteria in the poo). Thus, more research needs to be done comparing mixtures of probiotics (without harmful bacteria) to SSPA with Bacillus subitlis PB6.
Review of: “Dietary Probiotics Affect Gastrointestinal Microbiota, Histological Structure and Shell Mineralization in Turtles” by Rawski et al. in PLOS One 2016. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147859
This study of turtles purchased from a commercial pet dealer compared different probiotic mixtures with a control group who did not receive probiotics. I think the first two types of probiotics can be bought commercially. The first type of probiotic is the single species probiotic A (SSPA) with Bacillus subitlis PB6. The second type of probiotic was the single species probiotic B (SSPB) with Bacillus subitlis C-3102. The third type of probiotics was a strange combination of probiotics and potentially dangerous bacteria. That type was called multiple species probiotic (MSP) treatment and it includes 6 different probiotics, 1 type of bacteria—Enterococcus faecium, that causes major infections among humans, and a yeast—Candida pintolepessi that I would also worry about (could potentially cause thrush in people). Before I move on to the results, let’s think about the use of these bacteria in your pets. I wouldn’t want to give any pet bacteria that could cause infections in people, especially pets that kids handle. In the research lab, I have to wear gloves before handling Enterococcus but I doubt your average pet owner wears gloves when giving probiotics to their pet. In short, please do not give Enterococcus to your pets! However, the combination of those other 6 probiotics could have a protective effect (MSP had good results for these turtles) but were not studied without the harmful bacteria.
As for the results, this study found that SSPB with Bacillus subitlis C-3102 improved the structure of the stomach and intestines but turtles who received it excreted more harmful bacteria into their water compared with the other types of probiotics. Thus, the scientists stated that this is also harmful to the pet owners. Therefore, the only tested probiotic that can be recommended is the SSPA with Bacillus subitlis PB6 because it decreased the concentrations of bad bacteria excreted. Yet, even this one wasn’t great. The discussion section of this paper also warns against another type of probiotic called A. municiphila because it exacerbates gut inflammation and supports the development of salmonella infections.
In short, I believe the current mixture of the MSP probiotic is dangerous to administer, and the SSPB with Bacillus subitlis C-3102 is dangerous to clean up after (harmful bacteria in the poo). Thus, more research needs to be done comparing mixtures of probiotics (without harmful bacteria) to SSPA with Bacillus subitlis PB6.
