Probiotic lactic acid bacterium to treat bacterial infections associated with sids

Abstract

Compositions including a non-pathogenic lactic acid-producing bacteria, such as a Bacillus species, spores or an extracellular product of B. coagulans , formulated for oral administration to the intestinal tract for inhibiting bacterial gastrointestinal infections are described. Methods and systems using the compositions for treating gastrointestinal infections, particularly sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are also disclosed.

1 . An oral electrolyte composition for reducing a bacterial infection in a human comprising:
 i) viable colony forming units (CFU) of a non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria, wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria is  Bacillus coagulans ; and   ii) an oral electrolyte maintenance formulation.   
     
     
         2 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said oral electrolyte maintenance formulation in (ii) is rehydrated with water to produce a solution comprising 45 to 75 mEq/L of sodium, 20 mEq/L of potassium, 35 to 65 mEq/L of chloride, 30 mEq/L of citrate, 20-25 g/l of glucose, and wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria in (i) comprises about 5×10 5  to about 5×10 7  viable CFU of said bacteria/L. 
     
     
         3 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oral electrolyte maintenance formulation in (ii) comprises 45 to 75 mEq/L of sodium, 20 mEq/L of potassium, 35 to 65 mEq/L of chloride, 30 mEq/L of citrate, and 20 to 25 g/L of glucose. 
     
     
         4 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said bacterial gastrointestinal infection is selected from the group consisting of  Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium tributrycum, Clostridium sporogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and  Staphylococcus aureus.    
     
     
         5 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria exhibit probiotic activity that inhibits growth of bacteria associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). 
     
     
         6 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said human is an infant at risk for SIDS. 
     
     
         7 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria is in the form of spores. 
     
     
         8 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria is in the form of a dried cell mass. 
     
     
         9 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria is in the form of spores, and wherein said spores germinate in the gastrointestinal tract of said human. 
     
     
         10 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition contains 10 3  to 10 12  CFU of viable non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria or spores per gram of composition. 
     
     
         11 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises an effective amount of a bifidogenic oligosaccharide to promote the growth of the non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria. 
     
     
         12 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 11 , wherein said bifidogenic oligosaccharide is selected from the group consisting of fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), gluco-oligosaccharide (GOS), raffinose, and long-chain oligosaccharides. 
     
     
         13 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 12 , wherein said bifidogenic oligosaccharide comprises a polysaccharide having a polymer chain length of about 4 to 100 sugar units. 
     
     
         14 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises about 10 milligrams to about 1 gram of FOS per gram of composition. 
     
     
         15 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises from 100 to 500 milligrams of FOS per gram of composition. 
     
     
         16 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a food substance, flavoring, vitamin or mineral. 
     
     
         17 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein the oral electrolyte maintenance formulation in (ii) is a powder comprising sodium chloride, potassium citrate, citric acid, or glucose. 
     
     
         18 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises an extracellular product of  Bacillus coagulans.    
     
     
         19 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 18 , wherein said extracellular product is a supernatant or filtrate of a culture of an isolated  Bacillus coagulans  strain. 
     
     
         20 . The oral electrolyte composition of  claim 1 , wherein said non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria comprises  Bacillus coagulans  hammer strain Accession No. ATCC 31284.