Probiotic supplement increases bone volume: Study

A new study has discovered a certain probiotic supplement can increase bone volume, the Daily Mail reported.

Previous research has shown probiotics can help protect against disease-related bone loss.

"Because [probiotics'] mechanism of action in bone is unknown, they are regarded as some kind of alternative, esoteric, unproven treatment," senior author Dr Roberto Pacifici, a professor in the division of endocrinology at Emory University, told the Daily Mail.

Adding, "Our goal was to identify a biological mechanism of action of probiotics, a mechanism that makes sense to traditional scientists, hoping that this will make probiotics a mainstream treatment."

For the study, mice were treated with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), which ended in the secretion of a protein that is crucial for bone development.    

Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, hope their findings could pave the way to probiotics becoming a more affordable treatment option for osteoporosis patients.