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CompletedNCT05063305Updated Feb 3, 2022

Probiotics, Immunity, Stress, and QofL

An interventional study of Probiotic and Placebo in Stress and Quality of Life, sponsored by Loma Linda University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 90 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-02-03.

Sponsored by Loma Linda University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
100
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 90 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this graduate student research study is to evaluate the efficacy of a multi-strain probiotic and investigate if sex differences influence the role of probiotics on stress and immunity biomarkers.

Read the detailed description

Visit #1

  • Participants will read and sign informed consent forms, HIPPA form, and SAHP Covid-19 screening form.
  • Participants will perform a baseline oral saliva swab to test for the stress biomarker cortisol and immune markers, including Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF).

    • Swabs will be individually packaged. After opening the package, participants will place the swab under their tongue for 1-2 minutes.
    • After swabbing is complete, the swab will be placed into the collection tube and capped immediately.
    • Completed swabs will be placed and held in a sub negative 70° Fahrenheit freezer.
  • Participants will complete a Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (10-15 minutes).
  • As this study is double blinded, participants will be separated by gender (male and female) and will select a 90-day supply of placebo or probiotic sample at random. For each gender group there will be 50 samples to select from, comprised of a mix of 25 placebo and 25 probiotic bottles.
  • Participants will be instructed to take 1 capsule per day for the following 90 days. If a participant misses a day, they should resume taking 1 capsule per day the next day. The capsule should not be crushed or chewed. The capsule may be taken with or without food per participant preference. The participant should consistently take the probiotic at a similar time each day (example: always take it in the morning or evening) Visit #2
  • Participants will complete the same Quality-of-Life Questionnaire from visit #1
  • Participants will perform a post-study oral saliva swab in the same manner as visit #1
02

Conditions studied

  • Stress
  • Quality of Life
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Loma Linda University is the lead sponsor of 297 studies on the registry; 48 are open to participants now.

Of its 28 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 23 (82%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 90 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Males and Females
  • 18-90 years of age
  • Participants should be of good health

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women who are self-reported as pregnant and/or breastfeeding
  • Those who suffer from any systemic illness, such as diabetes mellitus, HIV, cancer, or chronic kidney disease.
  • Persons who are diagnosed with clinical depression or anxiety, or other mental health diagnoses such as schizophrenia or Alzheimer's.
  • Persons who have taken any probiotic for 5 or more days in the 3 months prior to the trial
  • Persons having received antibiotics or non-steroid anti-inflammatory therapy in the last 3-month period prior to the study
  • Persons who work night shift
  • Persons who consume probiotic rich foods daily, such as yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso, and buttermilk
  • Anyone who is allergic to any ingredient in the probiotic or placebo
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
100 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Male Probiotic

    • Participants will be instructed to take 1 capsule per day for the following 90 days. If a participant misses a day, they should resume taking 1 capsule per day the next day. The capsule should not be crushed or chewed. The capsule may be taken with or without food per participant preference. The participant should consistently take the capsule at a similar time each day (example: always take it in the morning or evening)

    Dietary Supplement: Probiotic

  • Placebo comparator
    Male Placebo

    • Participants will be instructed to take 1 capsule per day for the following 90 days. If a participant misses a day, they should resume taking 1 capsule per day the next day. The capsule should not be crushed or chewed. The capsule may be taken with or without food per participant preference. The participant should consistently take the capsule at a similar time each day (example: always take it in the morning or evening)

    Dietary Supplement: Placebo

  • Experimental
    Female Probiotic

    • Participants will be instructed to take 1 capsule per day for the following 90 days. If a participant misses a day, they should resume taking 1 capsule per day the next day. The capsule should not be crushed or chewed. The capsule may be taken with or without food per participant preference. The participant should consistently take the capsule at a similar time each day (example: always take it in the morning or evening)

    Dietary Supplement: Probiotic

  • Placebo comparator
    Female Placebo

    • Participants will be instructed to take 1 capsule per day for the following 90 days. If a participant misses a day, they should resume taking 1 capsule per day the next day. The capsule should not be crushed or chewed. The capsule may be taken with or without food per participant preference. The participant should consistently take the capsule at a similar time each day (example: always take it in the morning or evening)

    Dietary Supplement: Placebo

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementProbiotic

    The probiotic to be used in the study is in capsule form and consists of 12 bacterial strains and 10-billion colony forming unit (CFU). The product consists of the following bacterial strains and species: Bifidobacterium infantis ATCC SD 6720, Bifidobacterium bifidum ATCC SD 6576, Bifidobacterium breve ATCC SD 5206, Bifidobacterium lactis ATCC SD 5220, Bifidobacterium longum ATCC SD 5588, Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 32754, Lactobacillus casei ATCC SD5213, Lactobacillus paracasei ATCC SD 5275, Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC SD 5209, Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC SD 6689, Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 53103, Lactobacillus salivarius ATCC SD 5208) in combination with the prebiotic, xylooligosacharide (XOS).

  • Dietary supplementPlacebo

    A placebo, that will be indistinguishable in appearance to the probiotic, will be provided to half of all study participants for the length of the trial. It will contain the following ingredients: Microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, a vegetarian capsule, and silicon dioxide. The probiotic will be manufactured by MeriCal.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Saliva Sample Cortisol

    Baseline and post-study oral saliva samples will be tested for the stress biomarker cortisol uL.

    Time frame: Change in cortisol uL between baseline and 90 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Saliva Sample IL-1

    Baseline and post-study oral saliva samples will be tested for Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) uL.

    Time frame: Change in Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) uL between baseline and 90 days

  2. Saliva Sample Tumor Necrosis Factor

    Baseline and post-study oral saliva samples will be tested for Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) uL.

    Time frame: Change in Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) uL between baseline and 90 days

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Loma Linda University
    Loma Linda, California 92350, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 3, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05063305
Lead sponsor
Loma Linda University
Collaborators
MeriCal LLC
Responsible party
JeJe Noval (Assistant Professor Nutrition and Dietetics, Loma Linda University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 1, 2021
Start date
Sep 27, 2021
Primary completion
Jan 27, 2022
Completion
Jan 27, 2022
Last update
Feb 3, 2022

Study contacts

JeJe Noval, PhD
principal investigator · Loma Linda University

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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