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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Semi-Targeted Ultra-High-Performance Chromatography Coupled to Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Phenolic Metabolites in Plasma of Elderly Adults
Published on: April 22, 2022
Administration of a synbiotic to free-living elderly and evaluation of serum cytokines. A pilot study
L Amati1, G Marzulli, M Martulli
1National Institute of Gastroenterology, via Turi 27, 70013 Castellana Grotte, BA, Italy.
Abstract:
Ten free-living elderly were administered with a synbiotic [fermented milk containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus Gorbach and Goldin (LGG)] and oligofructose as a prebiotic for one month. Serum cytokines were evaluated before (T(0)) and after (T(1)) synbiotic administration. At T(0), values of Interleukin (IL)-12, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1beta and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-alpha were lower than normal controls, with the exception of IL-8, thus confirming previous results on the impairment of both innate and adaptive responses in elderly. At T(1), the synbiotic was able to significantly increase, depressed values of IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8 with a trend to a modest increase for the restant cytokines. In conclusion, the synbiotic used in this study seems to be very beneficial to elderly for its capacity to maintain the immune homeostasis, even if an increase in dosage and prolongation of administration time are required for a better modulation of the aged adaptive immune response.
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