Effects of Probiotics on Allergic Rhinitis Induced by Japanese Cedar Pollen: Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) has been found to exert antiallergic effects in animal experiments, but there is little information about its clinical effects in human patients with allergy. METHODS: We performed a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate the effects of LcS in patients with allergic rhinitis triggered by Japanese cedar pollen (JCP). Participants were asked to drink fermented milk containing LcS (LcS group) or placebo (control group) for 8 weeks. Clinical symptoms and immunological parameters were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Symptom-medication scores (SMS) worsened in accordance with the increase in the amount of scattered JCP. In terms of the nasal and ocular SMS, there was no significant difference between the LcS group and the placebo group during the ingestion period. In the subgroup of patients with moderate-to-severe nasal symptom scores before starting the ingestion of test samples, supplementation with LcS tended to reduce nasal SMS. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that fermented milk containing LcS does not prevent allergic symptoms in patients sensitive to JCP, but may delay the occurrence of allergic symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe nasal symptom scores.