Trial reportThe American journal of clinical nutrition2023
Inulin-type fructans and 2'fucosyllactose alter both microbial composition and appear to alleviate stress-induced mood state in a working population compared to placebo (maltodextrin): the EFFICAD Trial, a randomized, controlled trial.
Trial report in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT05212545 (Randomised Double-blind 4-arm Parallel, Placebo-controlled Trial Investigating the Effects of Prebiotics Alone or in a Combination on Intestinal Colonization and Ability to Influence Mood in a University Cohort), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers, 4 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.
Randomised Double-blind 4-arm Parallel, Placebo-controlled Trial Investigating the Effects of Prebiotics Alone or in a Combination on Intestinal Colonization and Ability to Influence Mood in a University Cohort
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Psychobiotic, nutritional, and behavioral interventions targeting the microbiome-gut-brain axis in depression, anxiety, and stress: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on anxiety, depression, and sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Restoring Gut-brain Function by Medicinal Herbs Offering Neuroprotection through Suppressing Inflammatory Pathways: A Systematic Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Dietary fibre blend improves gut health in patients with irritable bowel syndrome following a low FODMAP diet: a randomised, double-blind control trial.European journal of nutrition · 2026Trial
- Effects of probiotic yogurt on relative respiratory tract infections, urine, saliva biomarkers, and fecal bacterial load in Ugandan children: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Glycosylation in gut-brain communication: from the intestinal barrier and microbiota to immune and neural signaling.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Review
- Interpreting Microbiome Signatures with MicrobiomeNet.Current protocols · 2026Article
- Changes in bowel-movement frequency, gut microbiota, and emotional issues in postoperative constipation patients.Gastroenterology report · 2026Article
- Gut-microbiota-mediated host immune modulation: mechanisms, pathological dysbiosis, and therapeutic frontiers.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Exploring the prebiotic potential of commercial cellobiose: a randomized, controlled trial.Gut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Estimated prebiotic intake and depression in US adults: repeated cross-sectional analyses of NHANES 2015-2018 and 2021-2023.Journal of nutritional science · 2026Article
- Gastrointestinal Journey of Human Milk Oligosaccharides: From Breastfeeding Origins to Functional Roles in Adults.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Food and Mood: Current Evidence on Mental Health and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Effects of Asparagus Powder Supplementation on Glycemic Control, Lipid Profile, and Oxidative Stress in Overweight and Obese Adults: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The effects of inulin supplementation on eating behaviours in children and adolescents with obesity: a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study.Nutrition & metabolism · 2025Article
- Gut Feelings: How Microbes, Diet, and Host Immunity Shape Disease.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- AnGut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Polydextrose-driven gut microbiota modulation from synbiotic yogurt intake simulated in theFrontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is increasing interest in the bidirectional relationship existing between the gut and brain and the effects of both oligofructose and 2'fucosyllactose to alter microbial composition and mood state. Yet, much remains unknown about the ability of oligofructose and 2'fucosyllactose to improve mood state via targeted manipulation of the gut microbiota.
objectivesWe aimed to compare the effects of oligofructose and 2'fucosyllactose alone and in combination against maltodextrin (comparator) on microbial composition and mood state in a working population.
methodsWe conducted a 5-wk, 4-arm, parallel, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 92 healthy adults with mild-to-moderate levels of anxiety and depression. Subjects were randomized to oligofructose 8 g/d (plus 2 g/d maltodextrin); maltodextrin 10 g/d; oligofructose 8 g/d plus 2'fucosyllactose (2 g/d) or 2'fucosyllactose 2 g/d (plus 8 g/d maltodextrin). Changes in microbial load (fluorescence in situ hybridization-flow cytometry) and composition (16S ribosomal RNA sequencing) were the primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included gastrointestinal sensations, bowel habits, and mood state parameters.
resultsThere were significant increases in several bacterial taxa including Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in both the oligofructose and oligofructose/2'fucosyllactose interventions (all P ≤ 0.05). Changes in bacterial taxa were highly heterogenous upon 2'fuscoyllactose supplementation. Significant improvements in Beck Depression Inventory, State Trait Anxiety Inventory Y1 and Y2, and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule scores and cortisol awakening response were detected across oligofructose, 2'fucosyllactose, and oligofructose/2'fucosyllactose combination interventions (all P ≤ 0.05). Both sole oligofructose and oligofructose/2'fuscosyllactose combination interventions outperformed both sole 2'fucosyllactose and maltodextrin in improvements in several mood state parameters (all P ≤ 0.05).
conclusionThe results of this study indicate that oligofructose and combination of oligofructose/2'fucosyllactose can beneficially alter microbial composition along with improving mood state parameters. Future work is needed to understand key microbial differences separating individual responses to 2'fucosyllactose supplementation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT05212545.
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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.