Table 4.

Summary of clinical studies of using prebiotics in inflammatory bowel disease patients

Ref.	Type of treatment	Dose	Parameters analyzed	Conclusion
Valcheva et al[68], 2022	β-fructans (oligofructose and inulin)	15 g/d for 6 mo	Mayo score. FCP, along with stool metabolites	Did not prevent symptomatic relapses in UC patients but reduced the severity of biochemical relapse and increased anti-inflammatory metabolites
Pietrzak et al[69], 2022	Sodium butyrate	150 mg sodium butyrate twice a day for 12-wk	DAI, FCP	As adjunctive therapy, it did not show efficacy in newly diagnosed children and adolescents with IBD
Vernero et al[70], 2020	Oral microencapsulated sodium butyrate (BLM)	Dose of two capsules/day for 12 mo (500 mg of BLM for each capsule)	DAI, FCP, CRP	BLM supplementation appears to be a valid add-on therapy to maintain remission in patients with UC
Valcheva et al[71], 2019	Oligofructose-enriched inulin	7.5 g (n = 12) or 15 g (n = 13) daily oral oligofructose-enriched inulin for 9 wk	Mayo score, endoscopic activity and FCP	15 g/d dose inulin-type fructans produced functional but not compositional shifts of the gut microbiota. Controlled studies for the use of β-fructans as an adjunct therapy in patients with active UC are required
Azpiroz et al[72], 2017	scFOS	5 g per sachet, twice daily for 4 wk	Rectal sensitivity, anxiety/depression, quality of life scores, and composition of fecal microbiota	Less significant (scFOS on rectal sensitivity may require higher doses and may depend on the subgroup)

FCP: Fecal calprotectin; DAI: Disease activity index; CRP: C-reactive protein; UC: Ulcerative colitis; scFOS: Short chain fructooligosaccharides.