Probiotics, now in the era of “spraying”... A potential new way to care for women's vaginal health [Health Check]

[Financial News] Many women take probiotics or use vaginal suppositories to support vaginal health. But orally taken probiotics have difficulty taking hold in the vagina, while suppositories can be inconvenient to use. Results have emerged from a clinical study examining whether spray-on probiotics applied to underwear could be an alternative.
A research team led by Professor Kim Young-joo of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital (Hospital Director Kim Han-soo), with Professor Park Sun-hwa as first author, published the results of a preliminary clinical study exploring the effects of spray-on probiotics on vaginal health in the international journal Scientific Reports on the 5th of last month.
The research team conducted the study from December 2023 to June 2025 with 60 premenopausal women. Participants used a powder-spray product containing four types of live probiotics once a day for four weeks, spraying it onto their underwear or panty liners. The study used BalanceTalk, a product by PH4 Co., Ltd. (CEO Jeong Yong-un).

Among 16 women at high risk of bacterial vaginosis (Nugent score of 4 or higher), the average Nugent score fell significantly from 6.13 before use to 4.63 after four weeks (p<0.001). The Nugent score assesses the distribution of bacteria in vaginal discharge to determine whether bacterial vaginosis is present; lower scores indicate a healthier state. Individual scores fell for half of the high-risk group, and key symptoms, including vaginal discharge, odor and itching, also improved significantly (p=0.020).
The research team also found a significant negative association: the more vaginal probiotics (Lactobacillus) there were, the lower the Nugent score. This reaffirmed the key role probiotics play in maintaining a healthy vaginal microbiome.

No serious adverse events were reported during the four-week study, and participants rated the product highly for its ease of use in daily life. The research team said the results demonstrate the clinical potential of a spray-based delivery method that could address the difficulty oral probiotics have in taking hold in the vagina and the inconvenience of using vaginal suppositories.
However, this was a small, exploratory preliminary study, and the high-risk group in which an effect was observed comprised just 16 participants, limiting how broadly the results can be generalized.
Professor Kim Young-joo said, “The significance lies in exploring the clinical potential of a new type of delivery system for vaginal health management using probiotics,” adding, “Going forward, we will further verify the effects and mechanisms of action through large-scale randomized controlled clinical trials and long-term follow-up studies.” 
[email protected] Jung Myung-jin, Medical Correspondent Reporter