One of my readers in Spain forwarded me a link to this Symbioflor-2. It is targeted at Síndrome de Intestino Irritable (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and the site states that IBS has “Decrece el número de Lactobacilos, Escherichia coli y Bifidobacterias” (Decrease in the number of Lactobacillus, Escherichia Coli and Bifidobacteris).

Of course, I went to PubMed to see if any studies have been done with it:

It is NOT E.Coli Nissle 1917, but multiple E.Coli. It appears to be manufactured by Symbiopharm GmbH, Herborn, Germany:

• Escherichia Coli G1 … G10 [2015] – having more strains of E.Coli is wonderful!
• ” Five persons voluntarily took a single, high dose of Symbioflor®2, which contains 6 different probiotic E. coli genotypes…  Intake of the product did not result in severe side effect in any of the individuals, though mild side effects were observed. Stool analysis showed that the probiotic E. coli had colonised all five persons for a period of 10 to 30 weeks (mean: 18.7 weeks, median: 25.7 weeks)…. in two others total E. coli levels increased persistently with at least a factor of 10 as a result of the received dose. In one individual, who had lacked detectable levels of faecal E. coli at the start  long-term colonisation was established, first by probiotic E. coli exclusively, which were later replaced by host E. coli strains.  In four out of five individuals, total E. coli faecal counts were higher on average than at the start of the experiment. [2014]
• “In an in vitro assay with human intestinal epithelial cells, E. coli G3/10 is capable of suppressing adherence of enteropathogenic E. coli E2348/69. In this study, we demonstrate that a completely novel class II microcin[antibiotic], produced by probiotic E. coli G3/10, is responsible for this behavior.” [2012]
• ” Most (95%) patients up to age 11 were treated with a daily dose of 10 drops of Symbioflor 2 (SF2) (SymbioPharm, Herborn) (cells and autolysate of 1.5-4.5×10(7) CFU of bacteria of Escherichia coli type), in the elder children 77% received this dosage, while the remaining received a higher dose up to 30 drops/day. Treatment lasted 43 days on average…The key IBS symptoms (abdominal pain, stool frequency) as well as the other symptoms (bloating, mucous and blood in stool, need for straining at stools, urge to defecate) improved significantly during treatment.” [2010]
• “Treatment of IBS with the probiotic Symbioflor-2 is effective and superior to placebo in reducing typical symptoms of IBS patients seen by general practitioners and by gastroenterologists.” [2009]
• “After 3 weeks, fecal hBD-2 peptide was increased in 78% (mean 3.7-fold; P<0.0001). Interestingly, the fecal hBD-2 peptide was still elevated 9 weeks after treatment (P=0.008). In vitro studies revealed that this effect was mediated by only one out of three tested E. coli genotypes and comparable to probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 (10- to 15-fold).” [2009] that is, in some aspects better than Mutaflor!

Be Careful of Herbs while taking it!

See my page on herb interactions, some herbs will inhibit or kill this probiotic. Do one or the other, not both together.

Amazon.De site

• You can set it to display in English
• The manufacturer has a store BUT will not ship to the US.
• On the bottom left you will see stores that will ship. Most are 96-98% customer satisfaction, some with over 50,000 customers
  

Symbioflor-1

Of course, with a -2, one wonders if there is a -1. There is,

• “Enterococcus faecalis Symbioflor-1 was more potent in this respect compared to all the eleven Gram-positive strains tested.”[2014]
• ” Enterococcus faecalis Symbioflor 1 clone DSM 16431, included in a commercial probiotic product used for more than 50 years without any reports of infection.” [2013]
• ” Tolerance towards low pH and viability after exposure to human gastric and duodenal juices were assayed.Symbioflor-1 was the most susceptible strain to these treatments when compared with the other E. faecalis strains. Furthermore, Symbioflor-1 exhibited the lowest adhesion capacity to intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) and mucus.” [2012]

Enterococcus faecalis and E.Coli work together — so I recommend taking them together. Typically starting at one drop of each in a glass of water and increasing the dosage.

Using their Dropper Bottle

Today, our shipment arrived from Germany and we were initially dumbfounded on how to use the dropper bottle! I found this video on you tube and it was now clear (and simple)

Do NOT take at the same time as C. butyricum MIYAIRISAN Probiotics

“1.1 C. butyricum MIYAIRI antagonistic effects on toxinogenic Escherichia coli and 20 E. coli strains isolated from live stocks (cows, pigs and chickens) were evaluated by the plating method. C. butyricum MIYAIRI inhibited the growth of all E. coli strains tested” [Source]

Bottom Line

This probiotics excites me so much, that I may consider a short vacation in Spain if I cannot arrange to get it in some other way. It appears to be also available on Amazon.De. Some of the stores will ship to the US!!!   The package insert is here.

“How should Symbioflor® 2 be stored? Before a bottle of Symbioflor® 2 is used for the first time, it should be stored at not below +2 °C and not above +30 °C. After breaking the seal, close bottle tightly immediately after use and keep in the refrigerator. ”

So not refrigerated shipment in viable!