Purpose:

Modulating gut bacteria via regular prebiotics/probiotics consumption may improve the metabolism of acute alcohol ingestion. This study investigated the impact of 8-weeks prebiotics/probiotics supplementation on microbiome changes and responses to acute alcohol consumption.

Methods:

38 participants (21 females, 23.6 ± 3.4 kg m−2, mean ± SD) attended the laboratory on two occasions separated by an 8-week intervention period. On each of these visits, a dose of alcohol (0.40 ± 0.04 g kg−1, Vodka + Soda-Water) was consumed over 10 min. Breath alcohol concentration was sampled over 5 h and alcohol pharmacokinetics was analysed using WinNonlin non-compartmental modelling (Cmax, tmax, AUClast). For the intervention, participants were randomised to receive Placebo + Placebo (PLA), Placebo + Prebiotics (PRE), Probiotics + Placebo (PRO), or Probiotics + Prebiotics (SYN) in a double-blinded manner. Probiotics were a commercially available source of Lactobacillus acidophilus (NCFM®) and Bifidobacterium lactis (Bi-07). Prebiotics were a commercially available source of Larch Gum (from Larix occidentalis). Placebo was microcrystalline cellulose. Each visit, participants provided a stool sample, which was analysed to determine the presence of L. acidophilus and B. lactis. Differences between trials were analysed using paired samples t tests.

Results:

Increased counts for at least one bacterial strain (L. acidophilus or B. lactis) were observed for all participants on SYN (n = 10) and PRO (n = 10) trials. No difference in Cmax or tmax was observed between trials when analysed by treatment condition or microbiome outcome. A significant decrease in AUClast was observed between trials for PLA (p = 0.039) and PRE (p = 0.030) treatments, and when increases in at least one bacterial strain (p = 0.003) and no microbiome changes (p = 0.016) were observed.

Conclusion:

Consumption of probiotics appears to alter faecal counts of supplemental bacterial strains in otherwise healthy individuals. However, translation to any possible beneficial impact on alcohol metabolism remains to be elucidated.