Trial reportScientific reports2021
Improvement of gastrointestinal discomfort and inflammatory status by a synbiotic in middle-aged adults: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of oral synbiotics on the gut microbiota and inflammatory biomarkers in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotics supplements in individuals with anemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC gastroenterology · 2024Pooled it
- Synbiotic supplementation effects on muscle damage and inflammation in professional futsal players in a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Effects and Persistence of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99 and Fructooligosaccharides on Older Adults with Functional Constipation: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Trial
- The role of probiotic supplementation in reducingFrontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- From Structure to Function: How Prebiotic Diversity Shapes Gut Integrity and Immune Balance.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Recent Advances in Gut Microbiome Modulation: Effect of Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, and Postbiotics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Prevention and Treatment.Current microbiology · 2024Review
- Review
- Gut-brain axis: A cutting-edge approach to target neurological disorders and potential synbiotic application.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Oligosaccharides as Potential Regulators of Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Health in Post-COVID-19 Management.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Probiotic Strains Bifidοbacterium lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces boulardii Regulate Wound Healing and Chemokine Responses in Human Intestinal Subepithelial MyofibroblastsPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Synbiotics: a New Route of Self-production and Applications to Human and Animal Health.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2022Review
- Prebiotics and the Human Gut Microbiota: From Breakdown Mechanisms to the Impact on Metabolic Health.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Organoid technologies for the study of intestinal microbiota-host interactions.Trends in molecular medicine · 2022Review
- The Future of Synbiotics: Rational Formulation and Design.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Review
- Review
- Co-Encapsulated Synbiotics and Immobilized Probiotics in Human Health and Gut Microbiota Modulation.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Several studies suggest that microbial alterations (dysbiosis) are intimately linked to chronic inflammation occurring upon aging. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential interest of a synbiotic approach (co-administration of a probiotic bacteria and a prebiotic dietary fibre) to improve gastrointestinal wellness and inflammatory markers in middle-aged people. Middle-aged subjects were randomized to take synbiotic (Bifidobacterium animalis lactis and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS)) or placebo for 30 days. Stool frequency and consistency were improved in both placebo and synbiotic-treated volunteers while the synbiotic treatment significantly decreased the number of days with abdominal discomfort. Synbiotic treatment had no impact on mood dimensions, quality of life scores or the overall composition of the gut microbiota (16S rRNA gene sequencing of DNA extracted from stool). Importantly, plasma proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-17a and interferon-gamma (IFNγ)) were significantly lower after 30 days of synbiotic supplementation. This effect appears to be independent of the gut barrier function. This study demonstrates that a combination of B. animalis lactis and the well-known prebiotic FOS could be a promising synbiotic strategy to decrease inflammatory status with improvement of gut disorders in middle-aged people.
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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.