The use of probiotic PCC® to boost the efficacy of the influenza vaccine

French, PW & Penny R. Use of probiotic bacteria as an adjuvant for an influenza vaccine. International Journal of Probiotics and Prebiotics 2009:175-180

General findings

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on 47 healthy adults showed that daily consumption of PCC^®, two weeks prior to, and four weeks after, an intramuscular influenza vaccine injection significantly enhanced the antibody response to the vaccine.

Additionally, the PCC^® group had a much lower percentage of non-responders (5.5% compared to 28% in the placebo group).  The number of days of respiratory symptoms experienced by the people in the PCC^® group was also significantly less than the placebo group.

Conclusions

The authors concluded that oral consumption of PCC^® can act as an effective boost to the body’s response to the flu vaccine.

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