Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36458339›Full record

ReviewThe British journal of nutrition2023

Functional constipation and the effect of prebiotics on the gut microbiota: a review.

Rene Erhardt, Joanna E Harnett, Elizabeth Steels, Kathryn J Steadman

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The British journal of nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Rene ErhardtSchool of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4102, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1961-135X
Joanna E HarnettSchool of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW2006, Australia.
Elizabeth SteelsSchool of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4102, Australia.
Kathryn J SteadmanSchool of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4102, Australia.
The University of Queensland · AUThe University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Functional constipation is a significant health issue impacting the lives of an estimated 14 % of the global population. Non-pharmaceutical treatment advice for cases with no underlying medical conditions focuses on exercise, hydration and an increase in dietary fibre intake. An alteration in the composition of the gut microbiota is thought to play a role in constipation. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth of a limited number of bacteria in the colon with a benefit for host health. Various types of dietary fibre, though not all, can act as a prebiotic. Short-chain fatty acids produced by these microbes play a critical role as signalling molecules in a range of metabolic and physiological processes including laxation, although details are unclear. Prebiotics have a history of safe use in the food industry spanning several decades and are increasingly used as supplements to alleviate constipation. Most scientific research on the effects of prebiotics and gut microbiota has focussed on inflammatory bowel disease rather than functional constipation. Very few clinical studies evaluated the efficacy of prebiotics in the management of constipation and their effect on the microbiota, with highly variable designs and conflicting results. Despite this, broad health claims are made by manufacturers of prebiotic supplements. This narrative review provides an overview of the literature on the interaction of prebiotics with the gut microbiota and their potential clinical role in the alleviation of functional constipation.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeMicrobiotaConstipationDietary FiberHumansPrebioticsDietary FiberPrebioticsDietary fibreFunctional constipationMicrobiotaPrebiotics

Identifiers

PMID36458339
PMCPMC10442792
OpenAlexW4310588934

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.