Safety and mutagenicity evaluation of Vigiis 101 powder made from Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101.

The aim of the present work was to assess the genotoxic activity and the potential for toxicity upon repeated dosing of "Vigiis 101" powder, a probiotic consisting of dried bacteria Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101. Results of the Ames test in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA1537, TA98, TA100, TA102, and TA1535 showed that Vigiis 101 (⩽5 mg per plate) was not mutagenic. We used experiments on ICR mice to evaluate the genotoxicity of Vigiis 101. Compared to the control, high-dose Vigiis 101 administration (16.72 g per kg of body weight) did not cause significant changes either in the number of reticulocytes or in the percentage (occurrence) of micronucleated reticulocytes. A mammalian chromosomal aberration test showed that the number of Chinese hamster ovary cells with abnormal chromosomes was <4% after Vigiis 101 treatment (maximal concentration was 5 mg/ml). A 28-day oral toxicity assay in Wistar rats was performed to assess the no-observed-adverse-effect level of Vigiis 101. Compared to the control, high-dose Vigiis 101 administration (5000 mg/kg/day) had no effects on mortality and body weight and did not cause toxicopathological lesions. Taken together, these results show that Vigiis 101 has no significant mutagenic or toxic effects.