Probiotics: are they beneficial?

Sasha R Fehily; Chamara Basnayake; Emily K Wright; C K Yao; Jack Godsell; Peter R Gibson; Michael A Kamm

doi:10.1111/imj.16388

Probiotics: are they beneficial?

Intern Med J. 2024 May 8. doi: 10.1111/imj.16388. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sasha R Fehily^{1

2}, Chamara Basnayake^{1

2}, Emily K Wright^{1

2}, C K Yao³, Jack Godsell⁴, Peter R Gibson³, Michael A Kamm^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School, Monash University and Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Department of Clinical Immunology & Allergy, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 38717051
DOI: 10.1111/imj.16388

Abstract

There are wide-ranging probiotic choices in Australasia. We reviewed the efficacy of probiotics for the management of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions in adults and assessed relevance to clinical practice. The benefits of probiotics were inconsistent, with a strong consensus reached for only a few of the indications. As different species/strains and combinations differ in efficacy, results cannot be extrapolated from one to another. This review endorses specific probiotics for limited indications. Efficacy of most marketed probiotic formulations remains unstudied and unproven, warranting further research.

Keywords: gastrointestinal diseases; microbiota; probiotics.

Abstract

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