Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2026; 32(21): 117959
Published online Jun 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i21.117959
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, 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
Revised: January 28, 2026
Accepted: February 28, 2026
Published online: June 7, 2026
Processing time: 157 Days and 15.7 Hours
Core Tip
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.