Aim: To test whether supplements of Lactobacillus- and Bifidobacterium-containing yogurt (AB-Yogurt) affect the success of Helicobacter pylori eradication.
Methods: One hundred and sixty H. pylori-infected patients were randomized into a triple-plus-yogurt group or a triple-only group, receiving 1 week of triple therapy with and without supplements of AB-Yogurt, respectively. In the triple-plus-yogurt group, AB-Yogurt was continued for 4 weeks after triple therapy. Eight weeks later, patients were assessed for the success of H. pylori eradication. The stool samples of 22 randomly selected patients, 11 from each group, were provided on enrolment, at the first week and at the fifth week for evaluation of the percentage of Bifidobacterium in anaerobes.
Results: By intention-to-treat analysis, the triple-plus-yogurt group had a higher H. pylori eradication rate than the triple-only group (91% vs. 78%, P < 0.05). The per protocol H. pylori eradication rates were similar for both groups (93.5% vs. 89%, P = N.S.). Only patients supplemented with AB-Yogurt showed restoration of the percentage of Bifidobacterium in the anaerobes of stools at the fifth week to the level in the stools on enrolment.
Conclusions: Supplement with AB-Yogurt can improve the intention-to-treat eradication rates of H. pylori, and can restore the depletion of Bifidobacterium in stools after triple therapy.