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CLINICAL TRIAL article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Microbial Immunology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1654724

Weizmannia coagulans BC99 regulates oxidative stress and serum metabolic pathways to improve allergic rhinitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Provisionally accepted
Xuan  LiXuan Li1Zhidong  HanZhidong Han1Kaihong  WuKaihong Wu2Saman  AzeemSaman Azeem1Bingchai  LinBingchai Lin2Yiru  JiangYiru Jiang1Yao  DongYao Dong3Zhonghui  GaiZhonghui Gai3Shuguang  FangShuguang Fang3Ying  WuYing Wu1*Shaobin  GuShaobin Gu1*
  • 1Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
  • 2Guangdong Yi Chao biological technology Co Ltd, Shantou, China
  • 3Wecare Probiotics Co Ltd, Suzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Probiotics have demonstrated potential application value in alleviating allergic diseases, but their mechanisms of action remain to be explored. This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of probiotics in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods: We evaluated the clinical intervention efficacy of Weizmannia coagulans BC99 (BC99) in adults with AR through a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Seventy-eight AR patients were randomly assigned to either the BC99 gummies group (n = 40) or the placebo group (n = 38) for an 8-week intervention. Rhinitis symptom survey questionnaires, including the Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS), the Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), and the Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT), were administered and evaluated. Additionally, oxidative stress indicators, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as immune factors (IgA, complement C3) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum metabolomic profiles were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: The results indicated that BC99 significantly alleviated nasal symptoms and improved quality of life, as evidenced by reduced TNSS and RQLQ scores (p < 0.05) and increased RCAT scores (p < 0.01). Furthermore, BC99 supplementation significantly decreased serum IgA, complement C3, EOS, and MDA levels (p < 0.05) while enhancing antioxidant capacity (increased GSH, stabilized SOD). This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article Metabolomic analysis revealed that BC99 intervention induced 397 differential metabolite changes (136 upregulated, 261 downregulated) and significantly modulated AR-related metabolic pathways, including biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, phenylalanine metabolism, and arginine biosynthesis (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study confirms the efficacy of W. coagulans BC99 in ameliorating AR, potentially through immune modulation, oxidative stress reduction, and metabolic pathway regulation. These findings support BC99 as a promising adjunct therapy for AR, though further research is warranted to elucidate its molecular mechanisms and long-term effects.

Keywords: Weizmannia coagulans BC99, allergic rhinitis, Oxidative Stress, serum metabolic, Immune factors

Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 03 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Li, Han, Wu, Azeem, Lin, Jiang, Dong, Gai, Fang, Wu and Gu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Ying Wu, wuying2000@126.com
Shaobin Gu, shaobingu@126.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.