Research Article

Effect of Korean Herbal Medicine Combined with a Probiotic Mixture on Diarrhea-Dominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Figure 4

The change of 7 types of strains numbers in feces among 4 groups between week 0 and 8. Six types of strains (B. brevis, B. lactis, S. thermophilus, L. rhamnosus, L. plantarum, and L. acidophilus) showed significant difference after treatment. Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and IPI value did not show any statistically significant difference among 4 groups; however Gwakhyangjeonggisan plus placebo Duolac7S group tended to reveal lower value compared to other groups. Numbers of 7 types of bacterial strains are presented as average. Analysis was conducted by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test. GJS: Gwakhyangjeonggisan, DUO: Duolac7S, GJS-P: placebo of Gwakhyangjeonggisan, DUO-P: placebo of Duolac7S, IPI: intestinal permeability index, B. longum: Bifidobacterium longum, B. breve: Bifidobacterium breve, B. lactis: Bifidobacterium lactis, S. thermophilus: Streptococcus thermophilus, L. rhamnosus: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L. plantarum: Lactobacillus plantarum, L. acidophilus: Lactobacillus acidophilus, * , ** , *** .
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