Bifidobacterium infantis is a bacteria that an infant acquires from its mother when it passes through the birth canal. However, when an infant is born by Cesarean section or was given antibiotics there is a chance that there is not enough of this bacteria to colonize the colon properly. The Life Start probiotic is used for children for this reason.
The original research on bifidobacterium infantis and IBD was done in Japan and published in 2003. They used the strain 1222 in that research. It is quite likely that different strains of bifidobacterium infantis are effective for treating IBS. However, the amount required to have a theraputic effect may be different that the amount used in the clinical trials done on the strain 35624. The cost of Align is high - about $1.10 per dose - probably a result of the clinical trials. And it is not available in Canada. The cost of Life Start is much lower. A 4.5 oz jar cost about $38. A 1/4 teaspoon contains 1 billion CFUs. There are about 260 doses in a jar for a cost of about $0.15 per dose. It is a cheap experiment to try:)
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS