Bacillus coagulans for gas and bloating in adults
What it found
In adults with gas and bloating, 4 weeks of Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 improved symptom scores more than placebo.
The trial was small and done at two hospitals in southern India.
What they found
Studies in people
Gas and bloating scores
The indigestion score dropped from 8.91 to 3.06 in the probiotic group, while the placebo group changed little (9.42 to 8.33). The difference between groups was significant.
Individual symptoms
Bloating, burping and passing gas all improved more in the probiotic group than in the placebo group. For example, bloating fell from 3.28 to 1.09 with the probiotic, compared with 3.42 to 2.94 with placebo.
Overall patient rating
On a 10-point scale where 1 is bad and 10 is good, the median score rose from 3.0 to 9.0 in the probiotic group and from 3.0 to 4.0 in the placebo group.
Other gut symptoms
Scores for abdominal pain, reflux, diarrhea and constipation also improved more with the probiotic than with placebo. The cumulative GSRS score excluding indigestion fell from 34.00 to 3.00 in the probiotic group and from 35.00 to 13.00 in the placebo group.
Stool type
Bristol stool type improved to normal in both groups, with no significant difference between the probiotic and placebo groups.
Safety and side effects
One person in the probiotic group reported acidity on 2 days and nausea on 1 day, which resolved within a day. No other adverse events were reported, and blood and urine tests stayed in the normal range.
What the authors conclude
“Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 at 2 billion CFU per day was significantly effective in alleviating the symptoms of gas and bloating in patients in the absence of other functional gastrointestinal disorders.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 at 2 billion CFU per day was significantly effective in alleviating gas and bloating symptoms in people without other functional gastrointestinal disorders.
- They state that the supplement "may be an effective and safe approach to reduce the symptoms of gastrointestinal symptoms in adults with abdominal gas and distension."
- They call for future studies in a larger group, for a longer time, to confirm the benefit.
How it was done
The authors note that gut bacteria imbalances are a major cause of abdominal gas, bloating and distension, and they wanted to test a specific probiotic strain in healthy adults with these symptoms.
They randomly assigned 70 adults aged 18 to 65 with functional gas and bloating to take either Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 (2 billion spores a day) or a placebo for 4 weeks. The study was double-blind and took place at two hospitals in Bangalore, India.
What it can’t tell you
- The trial lasted only 4 weeks, so it cannot show whether the benefits last after stopping the supplement.
- The study was done in a small group at two hospitals in southern India, so the results may not apply to other populations.
- The authors could not perform a breath test to check for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, so they cannot say whether that affected the results.
The paper
- Title
- The effects of Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 on functional gas and bloating in adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Majeed M, Nagabhushanam K, Paulose S, Arumugam S, Mundkur L (2023). The effects of Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 on functional gas and bloating in adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Medicine. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000033109Free full textPubMed 36862903DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error