By Jimmy Downs

Tuesday Dec 25, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology suggests that taking probiotics or probiotic supplements may help prevent cadmium poisoning or reduce the acute toxicity of the metal element.

Q. Zhai from School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China tested Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610 in mice that were exposed to cadmium and found the probiotics helped reduce the acute cadmium toxicity.

Cadmium is a toxic metal element found in polluted environment and foods and cosmetics.   Excessive chronic exposure to low levels of cadmium is known to increase risk of developing breast cancer.

In the study, 90 mice were either given 10(9) colony-forming units of Lactobacillus plantarum once per day for seven days and then given a single oral dose of 1.8 mg of cadmium chloride for each mouse, or given the probiotics for two days after they were exposed to the same dose of cadmium chloride.

Some mice were neither exposed to the probiotics/cadmium or  cadmium only as controls.

Among mice exposed to cadmium, those that also received the probiotics had decreased intestinal cadmium absorption, reduced tissue cadmium accumulation, alleviated renal and hepatic oxidative stress and ameliorated hepatic histopathological changes.

Living probiotics administrated after cadmium exposure provided the most significant protection. The probiotics proved more effective in reducing acute cadmium toxicity than a simple antioxidant, according to the study report.

The researchers concluded "that it can be considered a new dietary therapeutic strategy against acute cadmium toxicity."

Probiotics were used or studied to treat/prevent a variety of health conditions including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, lactose intolerance, colon cancer, high cholesterol or hyperglycemia, high blood pressure, weakened immune function and infections, helicobacter pylori, inflammation, bacterial growth under stress, irritable bowel syndrome and colitis.