Probiotic Lactobacillus dose required to restore and maintain a normal vaginal flora

Forty-two healthy women were randomized to receive one of three encapsulated Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 plus Lactobacillus fermentum RC-14 probiotic dosage regimens or L. rhamnosus GG by mouth each day for 28 days. However, the vaginal flora, assessed by Nugent scoring, was only normal in 40%, of the cases, and 14 patients had asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis. Treatment with L. rhamnosus GR-1/L. fermentum RC-14 once and twice daily correlated with a healthy vaginal flora in up to 90% of patients, and 7/11 patients with bacterial vaginosis converted to normal or intermediate scores within 1 month. Ingestion of L. rhamnosus GG failed to have an effect, This study confirms the potential efficacy of orally administered lactobacilli as a non-chemotherapeutic means to restore and maintain a normal urogenital flora, and shows that over 10(8) viable organisms per day is the required dose. (C) 2001 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.