ReviewFrontiers in nutrition2022
Best Practices for Probiotic Research in Athletic and Physically Active Populations: Guidance for Future Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Frontiers in nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06087146 (Sauerkraut Supplementation in Athletes for Gut Microbiome Optimization), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 5 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.
Sauerkraut Supplementation in Athletes for Gut Microbiome Optimization: Case Series and Literature Review (Project KOMS)
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of combined protein and probiotic supplementation on physical performance and body composition: a Bayesian multilevel meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of probiotic intake on athletic ability in healthy people: a systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the gut-exercise link: A systematic review of gastrointestinal disorders in physical activity.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- It's Dead! Can Postbiotics Really Help Performance and Recovery? A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Orally Ingested Probiotic, Prebiotic, and Synbiotic Interventions as Countermeasures for Gastrointestinal Tract Infections in Nonelderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2023Pooled it
- Synbiotic supplementation effects on muscle damage and inflammation in professional futsal players in a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Dyslipidemia Impacts Cardiometabolic Health and CVD Risk in a Relatively Young Otherwise Healthy Population.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2025Trial
- Application of Probiotics and Postbiotics in Neurological Disorders.Current pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2026Review
- Article
- Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use on cardiometabolic health and risk in young healthy individuals: A preliminary matched pairs study.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- Mechanisms underlying alterations of the gut microbiota by exercise and their role in shaping ecological resilience.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Article
- Supplementation withFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Impact of probioticiScience · 2024Article
- A systematic scoping review of study methodology for randomized controlled trials investigating probiotics in athletic and physically active populations.Journal of sport and health science · 2024Article
- The Long and Winding Road to the Best Clinical Research and Personalized Therapy With Probiotics: Do Not Forget Host Physiology.Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility · 2023Article
- Review
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 8 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Probiotic supplementation, traditionally used for the prevention or treatment of a variety of disease indications, is now recognized in a variety of population groups including athletes and those physically active for improving general health and performance. However, experimental and clinical trials with probiotics commonly suffer from design flaws and different outcome measures, making comparison and synthesis of conclusions difficult. Here we review current randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using probiotics for performance improvement, prevention of common illnesses, or general health, in a specific target population (athletes and those physically active). Future RCTs should address the key elements of (1) properly defining and characterizing a probiotic intervention, (2) study design factors, (3) study population characteristics, and (4) outcome measures, that will allow valid conclusions to be drawn. Careful evaluation and implementation of these elements should yield improved trials, which will better facilitate the generation of evidence-based probiotic supplementation recommendations for athletes and physically active individuals.
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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.