The studies indicate that it offers relief from IBS symptoms in some patients. For UC, it seems to be hit or miss. I know someone who did go into remission after a tough flare with Align, but you'd have to try it yourself.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study, 362 women between 18 and 65 years of age who had been diagnosed with IBS (per Rome II criteria) received placebo or freeze-dried, encapsulated Bifantis once daily for four weeks(1). Throughout the study, patients daily recorded how they felt related to abdominal pain/discomfort, bloating/distension, sense of incomplete evacuation, straining at stool, urgency of bowel movement, passage of gas and mucus and bowel habit satisfaction(1). Patients also recorded their global assessment of relief for both abdominal pain/discomfort and their IBS symptoms(1).
At the end of the four week study, Bifantis was observed to be significantly superior to placebo for abdominal pain as well as bloating, bowel dysfunction, incomplete evacuation, straining and the passage of gas(1). Overall, improvements in symptoms experienced were highest in the 1x10(8) cfu dose group(1). Patients' global symptom assessment was superior to placebo by more than 20 percent. No significant adverse events were recorded(1).