Probiotics benefits may be overstated

San Francisco: There is no clear evidence that probiotics, the "friendly" bacteria strain of lactobacillus, prevent eczema -- a frequent precursor to asthma, a study has said.

Author Michael Cabana, director of the division of general pediatrics at the University of California, Benioff Children's Hospital, worked with his colleagues to see if the probiotic would work among infants who were at high risk of developing asthma, due to one or both parents having the condition, which is caused by both hereditary and environmental factors.

Exactly half of the 184 newborns received capsules of the probiotic for the first six months of life, while the second group of 92 newborns received placebo capsules with the same look and feel as the probiotic.

The results showed little difference: At age two, 30.9 per cent of the placebo recipients were diagnosed with eczema, versus 28.7 per cent of the probiotic group.

Found in yogurt, kefir and fermented foods, and described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "live micro-organisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host", probiotics are believed to enhance the defensive action of the cells that line the gut by stimulating healthy immune function and inhibiting the growth of viral and bacterial pathogens