Containing 2 of the most studied probiotic strains for gut and immune health, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM^® and Bifidobacterium lactis HN019™, HOWARU^® Balance helps deliver healthy digestion and natural immunity in 1 convenient supplement.

Digestive Health

In a 2 week, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 100 healthy volunteers were randomized into 3 groups during 14 days of treatment with a wash-out period of 7 days: Group 1 – probiotics of high dose (1.72X10¹⁰ CFU per day), Group 2 – probiotics of lose dose (1.8X10⁹ CFU per day), or Group 3 – placebo. The study was to assess the impact of Bifidobacterium lactis HN019™ on colonic transit times at different dose.

Data showed that high-dose group reduced colonic transit time by 28 hours, compared to 18 hours for the low-dose group and no substantial improvement in the placebo group. In the meantime, Bifidobacterium lactis HN019™ at high or low doses significantly modulated gut microflora, resulting in positive digestive comfort. 

Multiple human intervention trials have shown that L. acidophilus NCFM® and B. lactis HN019™ can positively modulate gut microflora, resulting in enhanced levels of beneficial bacteria. Collectively, these findings support the health-enhancing attributes associated with L. acidophilus NCFM® and B. lactis HN019™ consumption and strongly position these strains as premium digestive health probiotics.

Immunity Health

The pre-post intervention trial was conducted to determine dose-effect relation of dietary supplementation with probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on peripheral blood NK cell activity in healthy elderly subjects. Twenty-seven volunteers consumed low-fat/low-lactose milk supplemented with known immunostimulatory LAB strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001™ or Bifidobacterium lactis HN019™) for a period of 3 weeks. A dietary run-in of milk alone was shown to have no significant effect on NK cells. In contrast, the proportion of CD56-positive lymphocytes in peripheral circulation was higher following consumption of either LAB strain, and ex vivo PBMC tumoricidal activity against K562 cells was also increased. Supplementation with HN001™ or HN019™ increased tumoricidal activity by an average of 101 and 62%, respectively; these increases were significantly correlated with age, with subjects older than 70 experiencing significantly greater improvements than those under 70. These results demonstrate that dietary consumption of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001™ and Bifidobacterium lactis HN019™ in a milk-based diet may offer benefits to elderly consumers to combat some of the deleterious effects of immunosenescence on cellular immunity.