THE IMPACT OF CONSUMING «KARPATSKY» PROBIOTIC YOGURT ON SYMPTOMS OF FUNCTIONAL GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31548/humanhealth.1.2026.17Keywords:
: irritable bowel syndrome, probiotic cultures, fermented dairy, intervention study, IBS-SSSAbstract
Functional gastrointestinal disorders, which are also called Disorders of GUT-brain interactions, are common conditions that significantly affect daily functioning and often require safe, non-pharmacological strategies suitable for long-term use. One promising approach involves probiotic yogurts, which may serve as an effective matrix for delivering live cultures with the potential to modulate the gut microbiota.
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of two types of drinking yogurts produced with the “Carpaticus” starter culture (sugar-free and lactose-free) on the intensity of FGID symptoms. Sixty adult volunteers with mild to moderate FGID symptoms were enrolled and randomly assigned to two equal groups. Participants consumed the allocated yogurt twice daily for 30 days. Symptom severity was assessed using the IBS-SSS questionnaire on days 0, 10, 20, and 30.
Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in total IBS-SSS scores (p < 0.001) with very large effect sizes (Cohen’s d > 1.7), and 33.3% of participants in each group achieved remission (<75 points) by day 30. Although the lactose-free yogurt group showed a tendency toward a greater absolute reduction in symptom severity, the between-group comparison of Δ (D30–D0) did not reach statistical significance (t = 1.83; p = 0.072).
These findings indicate that daily consumption of yogurts made with the “Carpaticus” starter culture is associated with a substantial improvement in FGID symptoms and may represent a promising dietary strategy. Further randomized studies with an expanded design are warranted to confirm and extend these results.
References
Bui G., Marco Maria L., Impact of Fermented Dairy on Gastrointestinal Health and Associated Biomarkers, Nutrition Reviews, 2025; nuaf114, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf114
Chen, M., Li, Q., Zhang, F., Wu, P., & Zheng, H. (2023). Probiotics for the management of irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis. International Journal of Surgery, 109, 3631–3647. https://doi.org/10.1097/JS9.0000000000000658
de Souza, M., Drunkler, D. A., & Colla, E. (2024). Probiotic Functional Yogurt: Challenges and Opportunities. Fermentation, 10(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10010006
Ding, L., Li, H., & colleagues. (2025). Efficacy of fermented foods in irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Nutrition. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1494118
Francis, C. Y., Morris, J., & Whorwell, P. J. (1997). The irritable bowel severity scoring system: a simple method of monitoring irritable bowel syndrome and its progress. Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 11(2), 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2036.1997.142318000.x
Goodoory, V. C., Khasawneh, M., Black, C. J., Quigley, E. M. M., Moayyedi, P., & Ford, A. C. (2023). Efficacy of probiotics in irritable bowel syndrome: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Gastroenterology, 165(5), 1206–1218. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2023.07.018
Huang, K.-Y., Wang, F.-Y., Lv, M., Ma, X.-X., Tang, X.-D., & Lv, L. (2023). Irritable bowel syndrome: Epidemiology, overlap disorders, pathophysiology and treatment. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 29(26), 4120–4135. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v29.i26.4120
Humblot, C., Alvanoudi, P., Alves, E., Assunçao, R., Belovic, M., Bulmus-Tuccar, T., Chassard, C., Derrien, M., Karagöz, M. F., Karakaya, S., Laranjo, M., Mantzouridou, F. T., Rosado, C., Pracer, S., Saar, H., Tap, J., Treven, P., Vergères, G., Pertziger, E., & Savary-Auzeloux, I. (2025). A scoping review of the health effects of fermented foods in specific human populations and their potential role in precision nutrition: Current knowledge and gaps. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, Article 1650633. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1650633
Kaur, H., Kaur, G., & Ali, S. A. (2022). Dairy-Based Probiotic-Fermented Functional Foods: An Update on Their Health-Promoting Properties. Fermentation, 8(9), 425. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8090425
Le Roy, C.I., Kurilshikov, A., Leeming, E.R. et al. (2022). Yoghurt consumption is associated with changes in the composition of the human gut microbiome and metabolome. BMC Microbiol 22, 39 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-021-02364-2
Leeuwendaal, N. K., Stanton, C., O'Toole, P. W., & Beresford, T. P. (2022). Fermented Foods, Health and the Gut Microbiome. Nutrients, 14(7), 1527. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14071527
Marco, M. L., Heeney, D., Binda, S., Cifelli, C. J., Cotter, P. D., Foligné, B., Gänzle, M., Kort, R., Pasin, G., Pihlanto, A., Smid, E. J., & Hutkins, R. (2017). Health benefits of fermented foods: microbiota and beyond. Current opinion in biotechnology, 44, 94–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2016.11.010
Oka, P., Parr, H., Barberio, B., Black, C. J., Savarino, E. V., & Ford, A. C. (2020). Global prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome according to Rome III or IV criteria: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 5(10), 908–917. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30217-X
Shah, A.M., Tarfeen, N.; Mohamed, H., Song, Y. (2023). Fermented Foods: Their Health-Promoting Components and Potential Effects on Gut Microbiota. Fermentation 9, 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9020118
Sperber, A. D., Bangdiwala, S. I., Drossman, D. A., Ghoshal, U. C., Simren, M., Tack, J., Whitehead, W. E., Dumitrascu, D. L., Enck, P., Frexinos, J., Hungin, A. P. S., Kang, J. Y., Minhu, C., Schmulson, M., Whorwell, P. J., & Palsson, O. S. (2021). Worldwide prevalence and burden of functional gastrointestinal disorders, results of Rome Foundation Global Study. Gastroenterology, 160(1), 99–114.e3. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2020.04.014
Taylor, B. C., Lejzerowicz, F., Poirel, M., Shaffer, J. P., Jiang, L., Aksenov, A., Litwin, N., Humphrey, G., Martino, C., Miller-Montgomery, S., Dorrestein, P. C., Veiga, P., Song, S. J., McDonald, D., Derrien, M., & Knight, R. (2020). Consumption of Fermented Foods Is Associated with Systematic Differences in the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome. mSystems, 5(2), e00901-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00901-19
Tziatzios, G., Gkolfakis, P., Leite, G., Mathur, R., Damoraki, G., Giamarellos-Bourboulis, E. J., & Triantafyllou, K. (2023). Probiotics in Functional Dyspepsia. Microorganisms, 11(2), 351. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020351
Ünsal, N. E., Akbulut, G., & Gülşen, M. (2024). Effects of fiber or probiotic yogurt supplementation on intestinal barrier integrity in constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Gülhane Medical Journal, 66(4), 176–184. https://doi.org/10.4274/gulhane.galenos.2024.05900
Wu, Y., Li, Y., Zheng, Q., & Li, L. (2024). The efficacy of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation in irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Nutrients, 16(13), 2114. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16132114
Yamada, N., Kobayashi, K., Nagira, A., Toshimitsu, T., Sato, A., Kano, H., & Hojo, K. (2024). The beneficial effects of regular intake of Lactobacillus paragasseri OLL2716 on gastric discomfort in healthy adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrients, 16(18), 3188. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16183188
Zeng, Q., Li, P., Wu, H., Zhuang, Y., Zhang, Y., Asemani, S., Jamilian, P., Jamali, M., & Yu, H. (2025). Probiotics and gastrointestinal disorders: an umbrella meta-analysis of therapeutic efficacy. European journal of medical research, 30(1), 515. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-025-02788-w
Zhang, T., Shi, L., Ren, G., Yang, M., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Efficacy of probiotics for irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12, 859967. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.859967
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Human and nation's health
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All materials are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License, which allows others to extend the article with acknowledgment of authorship and first publication in this journal.
