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Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum 1714
The 'psychobiotic' strain marketed for stress and sleep. Not the same organism as B. infantis 35624 (Align), despite both being Bifidobacterium longum. After roughly a decade of coordinated research from a single lab, the two largest trials both missed their primary endpoints, and every objective measurement taken — actigraphy, behaviour — was null.
What the evidence says
Most B. longum 1714 studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from medium-quality randomised trials published 2015–2026 with a typical study size of 72 participants.
Based on 9 studies · 5 RCTs · 411 total participants
Confidence
Moderate confidenceBy outcome
A decade of coordinated research on a single strain has produced two adequately sized trials that both missed their primary endpoints, null results on every objective measure taken, and near-total dependency on one research group and its commercial sponsor. No meta-analysis exists.
No trials currently enrolling · 2 completed on ClinicalTrials.gov
Registered trials show research momentum for B. longum 1714, not proof of effect — a registration is a plan, and posted results are sponsor-reported, not peer-reviewed. They are never counted toward the evidence rating above.
Browse these trials on ClinicalTrials.govClinicalTrials.gov · as of Sep 2026
Our research database did not respond in time, so the studies and count above cover only our curated set. This refreshes automatically.
Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum 1714 is the strain that popularised the word 'psychobiotic'.
Almost every trial involves the strain's commercial owner (PrecisionBiotics/Novonesis/Alimentary Health), though the research groups themselves vary — APC Microbiome Ireland in Cork ran the early work, while the two largest trials were run by other centres — and marketed for stress, sleep and mood rather than for gut symptoms.
It is a genuinely different strain from 35624, the one sold as Align and Alflorex: 35624 is an IBS strain, 1714 is a stress-and-sleep strain, and evidence for one says nothing about the other.
The two are easy to conflate, and the usual shorthand for telling them apart — that one is subsp. longum and the other subsp. infantis — is wrong. Despite being marketed as 'B. infantis 35624', genome sequencing places 35624 in subsp. longum too, so both strains belong to the SAME subspecies.
Nothing about the subspecies name distinguishes them; only the strain number does, which is exactly why strain numbers are what you have to check. The honest read of the human data is that this programme has not delivered.
Its two largest trials both missed their pre-specified primary endpoints: a 168-person trial in mild-to-moderate depression found no difference in Beck Depression Inventory-II scores at week 4 or week 8, and an 89-person sleep trial found no difference in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index global score.
In both, the significant findings were secondary outcomes, and in the depression trial the week-4 secondaries that did reach significance (sleep quality, PHQ-9) no longer did so at week 8.
Wherever an objective instrument was used instead of a questionnaire, the result was null: actigraphy showed no change in the sleep trial, and a magnetoencephalography study that found altered theta and beta oscillations reported explicitly that there was no effect at the behavioural level.
A 72-woman pregnancy trial was fully null on its immune primary endpoint.
The most-cited human study — the 2016 paper that launched the strain's reputation — used a within-participants design in 22 volunteers in which placebo always preceded the probiotic, with no randomisation and no parallel placebo arm, so its findings cannot be separated from order and repeated-testing effects.
A published comment in the same journal as the brain-imaging study disputed the social-stress interpretation. This is an interesting research programme with a plausible mechanism, not a demonstrated consumer benefit.
The strain produces a branched hexasaccharide repeating-unit exopolysaccharide that selectively drives IL-10 secretion from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This is the clearest strain-specific molecular feature identified so far.
The strain produces tryptophan and indole lactic acid in vitro, and indole lactic acid directly reduces TLR-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and NF-kB activation. Plasma tryptophan and kynurenic acid rose in humans after consumption — the human sample size for that measurement is not stated.
Magnetoencephalography in 40 healthy volunteers found increased frontal and cingulate theta power and decreased hippocampal and temporal beta-3 power, correlating with subjective vitality. Importantly, the same trial reported no effect at the behavioural level, and the interpretation was disputed in a published comment.
How B. longum 1714 works — from molecular targets to health outcomes. Click an edge to see supporting research.This visualization is in beta — pathways are being refined and expanded.
Tested directly in 168 adults with mild-to-moderate depression and no effect on the primary endpoint was found. Not a substitute for treatment.
The only one of these three strains with a dedicated pregnancy trial: 72 women dosed from 16-20 weeks to delivery with no safety signal — but also no benefit on the immune endpoint studied. Discuss with a clinician.
Standard live-probiotic caution applies; no strain-specific data exists either way.
Antibacterial antibiotics reduce the viable dose of a live bacterial product. No trial of this strain tested concurrent antibiotics, so the size of the effect is unknown. Separating doses by about 2 hours is a reasonable precaution.
Not an interaction with the drug itself — the concern is adding a live organism to a host who cannot contain it. This is documented rather than theoretical: whole-genome work traced Lactobacillus blood isolates in ICU patients directly to the probiotic capsules they were given, and invasive Bifidobacterium infection is reported with the isolate matching the product. Avoid unless a clinician directs otherwise; the same caution applies to critical illness and an indwelling central venous catheter.
Tip: Trials reported the strain as safe and well tolerated; adverse-event rates were not quantified in the published abstracts
B. longum 1714 has an evidence score of 3/10 — emerging evidence based on 9 indexed studies. The 'psychobiotic' strain marketed for stress and sleep. Not the same organism as B. infantis 35624 (Align), despite both being Bifidobacterium longum. After roughly a decade of coordinated research from a single lab, the two largest trials both missed their primary endpoints, and every objective measurement taken — actigraphy, behaviour — was null. Representative study: PMID 38355674.
The commonly studied dose of B. longum 1714 is 1 x 10^9 to 1 x 10^10 CFU daily — the two trials that state a dose used 1 x 10^10 CFU/day (depression) and a minimum of 1 x 10^9 CFU/day (pregnancy). Neither found a benefit on its primary endpoint, so this is the dose range that has been tested, not a dose shown to work.. Individual needs vary — start at the lower end of the range and adjust based on how you respond.
Timing is flexible for B. longum 1714 — consistent daily use matters more than the time of day. No trial compared time of day or fed versus fasted dosing.
B. longum 1714 is generally well-tolerated and considered safe for most healthy adults at recommended doses. Reported side effects are uncommon and include mild digestive upset. Use caution if any of these apply to you: Immunocompromise or immunosuppression (class-level precaution for live probiotics); Critical illness or indwelling central venous catheter.
Magnesium
Likely helpsSupports 300+ enzymatic reactions — critical for sleep, stress response, muscle function, and cognitive health.
Ashwagandha
Likely helpsReduces cortisol and anxiety while improving sleep quality and physical recovery in stressed adults.
L-Theanine
Likely helpsTea-derived amino acid that boosts alpha brain waves for calm, focused alertness — synergizes with caffeine to reduce jitteriness.
Probiotics
Likely helpsLive microorganisms where strain selection determines outcome — Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains best studied for gut, immune, and mood.
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Reviewed by Dr. Baher Al Hakim · Last reviewed July 2026 · evidence from 9 studies · how we score · editorial policy
This information is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.
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