Table 1.
Recently published clinical trials on the effectiveness of prebiotic supplementation for the treatment and/or prevention of allergic diseases
| Reference | Type of study | Population | Type of mixture | Dose used | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scholtens et al. [11] | Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study | 215 healthy infants (187 completed the study) in the first 26 weeks of life | GOS/FOS 9:1 | 6 g/L | Infant formulas supplemented with prebiotics led to higher concentrations of fecal IgA, suggesting a positive effect on mucosal immunity |
| Arslanoglu et al. [12] | Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study | 152 healthy infants of atopic parents (134 completed the study) received prebiotics or placebo for 6 months and were followed for 2 years | GOS/FOS 9:1 | 8 g/L | Early dietary supplementation with prebiotics promotes a protective effect against atopic diseases (AD, recurrent bronchospasm and urticaria) and infectious diseases in the first 2 years of life |
| Moro et al. [13] | Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study | 259 infants at risk of atopy were randomly assigned to receive infant formula with and without prebiotics during the first 6 months of life | GOS/FOS 9:1 | 8 g/L | The group supplemented with prebiotics showed a lower incidence of atopic dermatitis (9.8% vs. 23.1%) and a higher number of bifidogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract |
| Passeron et al. [14] | Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study | 39 children with moderate and severe AD older than 2 years of age used synbiotics or prebiotics alone (control) for 3 months | Lactobacillus rhamnosus/GG (LGG), GOS/FOS 9:1 | LGG – 1.2 × 109 ufc/g, GOS/FOS | Both synbiotics and prebiotics used alone improved the symptoms of AD in children older than 2 years of age, although two episodes of abdominal pain were noted in the group of synbiotics and one episode was observed in the group of prebiotics |
| Wu et al. [15] | Double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study | 54 children from 2 to 14 years of age with moderate to severe AD used synbiotics or prebiotics (control) for 8 weeks | Lactobacillus salivarius/FOS, FOS | >2 × 109 ufc/g + FOS, FOS | The combination with synbiotics showed a greater effect in reducing severe AD than did using the prebiotic alone, although two patients in the group of synbiotics initially had diarrhea as a side effect |
GOS, galactooligosaccharide; FOS, fructooligosaccharide; AD, atopic dermatitis.