The study published in Nutrient showed that daily consumption of HOWARU^® Protect 55+ (Bifidobacterium lactis HN019^TM) enhances NK cell and PMN function in healthy, elderly adults.

Elderly people have increased susceptibility to infections and cancer that are associated with a decline in cellular immune function. The objective of this work was to determine the efficacy of Bifidobacterium (B.) animalis ssp. Lactis HN019™ (HN019™) supplementation on cellular immune activity in healthy, elderly subjects. A systematic review of meta analysis of four clinical trials was conducted on the basis of that reported polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell phagocytic capacity or natural killer (NK) cell tumoricidal activity following B. lactis HN019™ consumption in the elderly. A random effects meta-analysis was performed with a standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval between probiotic and control groups for each outcome.

Data show that B. lactis HN019™ supplementation was highly efficacious in increasing PMN phagocytic capacity with an SMD of 0.74 (95% confidence interval: 0.38 to 1.11, p < 0.001) and moderately efficacious in increasing NK cell tumoricidal activity with an SMD of 0.43 (95% confidence interval: 0.08 to 0.78, p= 0.02).

In another 2 studies, B. lactis HN019™ was shown to increase the number of bifidobacteria in the intestines of 55+ (Ahmed et al. 2007), and significantly improve the colonic transit time in healthy adults, helping them to maintain regularity (Waller et. al. 2011).