Önning G, Vegge CS, Montelius C, Lewis ED, Al-Wahsh H, Moulin M, Crowley DC, Guthrie N. Effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GOS42 on gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy adults with occasional constipation. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(21): 117959 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i21.117959]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Gunilla Önning, Adjunct Professor, Department of Research and Development, Probi AB, Ideongatan 1A, Lund 22370, Sweden. gunilla.onning@probi.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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research-article
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Önning G, Vegge CS, Montelius C, Lewis ED, Al-Wahsh H, Moulin M, Crowley DC, Guthrie N. Effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GOS42 on gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy adults with occasional constipation. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(21): 117959 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i21.117959]
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2026; 32(21): 117959 Published online Jun 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i21.117959
Effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GOS42 on gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy adults with occasional constipation
Gunilla Önning, Christina Skovgaard Vegge, Caroline Montelius, Erin Diane Lewis, Huda Al-Wahsh, Marc Moulin, David Cecil Crowley, Najla Guthrie
Gunilla Önning, Christina Skovgaard Vegge, Caroline Montelius, Department of Research and Development, Probi AB, Lund 22370, Sweden
Gunilla Önning, Division of Pure and Applied Biochemistry, Lund University, Lund 22100, Sweden
Erin Diane Lewis, Huda Al-Wahsh, Marc Moulin, David Cecil Crowley, Najla Guthrie, Department of Research, KGK Science Inc., London N6B 3L1, Ontario, Canada
Author contributions: Önning G, Vegge CS, Montelius C, Lewis ED, Moulin M, and Guthrie N contributed to the conception and design of the study; Önning G, Lewis ED, and Moulin M were involved in the analysis and interpretation of data; Önning G did the first draft of the article; Al-Wahsh H performed the main statistical analyses; Crowley DC provided medical oversight of study conduct; Önning G, Vegge CS and Montelius C made critical revisions related to important intellectual content of the manuscript; all authors approved the final version of the article to be published.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board Services (Advarra, Aurora, Ontario, Canada; Approval No. Pro00079027).
Clinical trial registration statement: This study has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06444139).
Informed consent statement: All the individuals who participated in this study provided their written informed consent prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Önning G, Vegge CS and Montelius C are employed by Probi AB that owns the probiotic strains that were investigated and supported the study. The other authors have no conflict of interest related to the manuscript.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
Corresponding author: Gunilla Önning, Adjunct Professor, Department of Research and Development, Probi AB, Ideongatan 1A, Lund 22370, Sweden. gunilla.onning@probi.com
Received: December 22, 2025 Revised: January 28, 2026 Accepted: February 28, 2026 Published online: June 7, 2026 Processing time: 157 Days and 15.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The global prevalence of functional constipation is approximately 12%. It is characterized by infrequent complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs), hard or lumpy stools, straining during defecation, and has a negative impact on quality of life (QoL). The probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) 299v (Lp299v) has been demonstrated to be efficacious in irritable bowel syndrome. However, its efficacy has not yet been evaluated in constipated but healthy subjects. The hypothesis of the present study was that an 8-week supplementation of L. plantarum [Lp299v and L. plantarum GOS42 (LpGOS42)] would result in significant improvements in constipation-related symptoms compared to placebo.
AIM
To investigate whether L. plantarum improves constipation and QoL in healthy subjects experiencing occasional constipation.
METHODS
The effect of L. plantarum was studied in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel clinical trial carried out at one site in London, Canada, and included 100 healthy subjects with occasional constipation. Following a 2-week run-in period, subjects were randomized to consume either L. plantarum or placebo (1:1) for an 8-week period. Between-group differences in gut transit time, number of CSBM, stool consistency (Bristol Stool Scale), frequency of flatulence, and QoL were evaluated using Linear mixed models.
RESULTS
The L. plantarum group (n = 49) showed significant improvements in stool consistency (0.91 ± 1.04 L. plantarum vs 0.43 ± 1.15 placebo, P = 0.023) and percentage of CSBM without hard or lumpy stools (30.2 ± 38.8 vs 11.9 ± 34.8, P = 0.005) compared to placebo (n = 48) after 8 weeks (per-protocol population). Significant improvements in flatulence (-0.26 ± 0.59 vs -0.06 ± 0.53, P = 0.043), and QoL in the satisfaction domain (-1.15 ± 1.09 vs -0.76 ± 1.16, P = 0.007) were also seen in the L. plantarum group compared to placebo. A post hoc analysis of 77 subjects with ≤ 3 weekly bowel movements (BMs) at baseline showed a significantly greater increase in weekly CSBM for the L. plantarum group compared to placebo (3.0 ± 3.0 vs 1.8 ± 2.4, P = 0.024).
CONCLUSION
Supplementation of L. plantarum (Lp299v and LpGOS42) for eight weeks significantly increases the number of BM, improves the stool consistency, reduces flatulence and improves QoL in subjects with occasional constipation.
Core Tip: The strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) 299v (Lp299v) has previously been shown to have positive effects on irritable bowel syndrome. For the first time, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study has evaluated the effects of Lp299v, together with a small amount of a secondary strain (L. plantarum GOS42), on constipation in otherwise healthy subjects. Supplementation of these two probiotic strains for eight weeks had a significant positive effect compared to placebo on various constipation-related symptoms such as number of weekly bowel movements (BMs), stool consistency, percentage of stools with hard/lumpy consistency, flatulence, and satisfaction with BM regularity.
