SynthesisBrain and behavior2020
Efficacy of probiotics on stress in healthy volunteers: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Probiotics Supplementation on Cortisol Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of probiotics on stress in healthy volunteers: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Brain and behavior · 2020Pooled it
- Probiotic-mediated modulation of gut microbiome in students exposed to academic stress: a randomized controlled trial.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The effect of probiotic supplementation on perceived stress and bowel function in healthy young adults: evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Makkah.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Trial
- Metabolic Status Influences Probiotic Efficacy for Depression-PRO-DEMET Randomized Clinical Trial Results.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Psychobiotic Effects on Anxiety Are Modulated by Lifestyle Behaviors: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial on Healthy Adults.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Feed your microbes to deal with stress: a psychobiotic diet impacts microbial stability and perceived stress in a healthy adult population.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Trial
- A randomized trial of probiotic supplementation in nurses to reduce stress and viral illness.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- "Attacking" the Gut-Brain Axis with Psychobiotics: An Umbrella Review of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Gut Microbiota-Driven Pathways Linking Chronic Stress to Tumor Progression.International journal of biological sciences · 2026Review
- Dual-Strain Psychobiotics Combining LiveFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Gut Microbiome in Anxiety Disorders.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Effects of Probiotics as Adjunctive Therapy to Fluoxetine on Depression Severity and Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Cortisol, and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Overcrowding Stress in Livestock Production Alters Gut Microbiota Composition and Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (nNOS) Expression in nNOS-HiBiT Knock-in Mouse Model.Food science of animal resources · 2025Article
- A prebiotic intervention improves mood in everyday life in healthy women but not in men: Exploratory results from a larger double-blind placebo controlled cross-over study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Probiotics mitigate stress and inflammation in malnourished adults via gut microbiota modulation: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Effects ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- The Effect of the Combination of Two Postbiotics on Anxiety-like Behavior in Animal Models.Cells · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundProbiotics seems to play a beneficial role in stressed populations; thus, a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effects of probiotics on stress in healthy subjects were conducted.
methodsRandomized controlled trials on the effects of probiotics on stress in healthy subjects were retrieved from five databases. The effects of probiotics on subjective stress level, stress-related subthreshold anxiety/depression level, cortisol level, and adverse reactions were analyzed. Separate subgroup analyses were conducted on single-strain probiotics versus multi-strain probiotics, and short-term administration versus long-term administration.
resultsSeven studies were included, involving a total of 1,146 subjects. All the studies were rated as low or moderate risk of bias. Our research found that probiotic administration can generally reduce the subjective stress level of healthy volunteers and may improve their stress-related subthreshold anxiety/depression level, but no significant effect was observed in the subgroup analysis. The effect of probiotics on cortisol level was not significant. Adverse reactions were reported in only one of seven studies, but left undescribed.
conclusionCurrent evidence suggests that probiotics can reduce subjective stress level in healthy volunteers and may alleviate stress-related subthreshold anxiety/depression level, without significant effect on cortisol level, and there is not enough support to draw conclusions about adverse effects; thus, more reliable evidence from clinical trials is needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.