Table 1.
List of probiotic strains and preclinical and clinical evidences of their efficacy in managing viral diseases
| Probiotic strains | Study year | Infection | Model | Outcomes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lactobacillus pentosus S-PT84 | 2010 | Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | Higher survival rate and lower viral load in lungs along with increased NK cells activity along with a higher expression of IL-12 and IFN-α in the lung tissue | [59] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus gasseri TMC0356 | 2010 | Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | Alleviate clinical symptoms and significantly lower virus load in the lungs of infected mice. | [60] |
| Lactobacillus plantarum YU | 2011 | Influenza virus A/NWS/33 (H1N1) | Male BALB/c mice | Prevented weight loss and suppressed viral proliferation due to enhanced Th1 immune response | [16] |
| Lactobacillus pentosus strain b240 | 2011 | Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | Increased survival rate and lower virus load in the lungs along with increased production of IgA and IgG in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and plasma | [61] |
| Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 | 2011 | Respiratory tract infections | Clinical trial 109 participants |
Newborn infants receiving probiotics had a lower (65%) incidence of respiratory infections as compared to 94% of infants in the control group | [44] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus | 2012 | Influenza virus A/NWS/33 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | The increased survival rate with intranasal dosage along with increased secretory IgA production and reduced the expression levels of TNF-α and IL-6 | [24] |
|
Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730 |
2012 | Inflammatory bowel diseases | Clinical trial 40 participants |
Useful in improving mucosal inflammation along with increased cytokine expression level of IL-10 and decreased levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8 | [53] |
| Lactobacillus plantarum CNRZ1997 | 2013 | Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | Reduced weight loss, alleviated clinical symptoms, and decreased virus load in the lungs of infected mice | [25] |
| Lactobacillus plantarum LBP-K10 | 2013 | Influenza virus H3N2 | Madin-Darby canine kidney cells | Cyclic dipeptides obtained from culture filtrate was successful in inhibiting viral infectivity and proliferation | [62] |
| Lactobacillus acidophilus L-92 | 2013 | Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | Prevented weight loss, reduced viral load in the lungs along with an increased expression of antiviral cytokines and chemokines | [26] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 | 2013 | Upper respiratory tract infection | Clinical trial 231 participants |
The severity of upper respiratory infections was lower in the probiotic group along with the improved quality of life | [49] |
| Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 | 2013 | Inflammatory bowel diseases | Clinical trial 192 participants |
Significant reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and proinflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6) | [54] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 | 2014 | Respiratory syncytial virus and Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Male BALB/c mice | Reduced risk of lung injury and lower virus titer along with modulation of tissue factor and thrombomodulin expression in lungs of infected mice | [63] |
| Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 | 2014 | Influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Male C57BL/6N mice | Reduced virus load and lower expression of IL-6 in the lung tissue. Increased expression of myxovirus resistance 1 (Mx1) and oligoadenylate synthetase 1A (Oas1a) resulted in viral clearance | [27] |
| Lactobacillus casei DN 114001 | 2014 | Antibiotic-associated diarrhea |
Clinical trial 258 participants |
Probiotics proved to be effective in the treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in both children and adults | [43] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Bifidobacterium longum | 2014 | Ventilator‐associated pneumonia | Clinical trials 1083 participants |
Cochrane meta-analysis review of 8 different trials reported the beneficial role of probiotic strains in reducing the risk of ventilator‐associated pneumonia | [47] |
| Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis | 2016 | Coxsackieviruses and Enterovirus 71 strain 41 | Human rhabdomyosarcoma and Caco-2 cell lines | In vitro assays confirmed significant dose-dependent antiviral activity Coxsackievirus type A and Enterovirus 71 | [30] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus M21 | 2016 | Influenza virus A/NWS/33 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | The increased survival rate, lower viral titer in lungs of infected mice, and increased production of IFN-γ, IL-2, and IgA | [29] |
|
Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1, Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12, and Streptococcus thermophilus |
2016 | Upper respiratory tract infection | Clinical trials 6269 participants |
A meta-analysis of 23 trials reported that consumption of probiotics reduced the prevalence of respiratory tract infections along with the improved quality of life | [50] |
| Enterococcus faecalis | 2017 | Influenza virus (A/WSN/33) and Enterovirus 71 | Male C57BL/6 mice | Improved survival rate and low viral load in the bronchoalveolar lavage of infected mice | [31] |
| Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus salivarius | 2017 | Influenza virus A/Duck/Czech/56 (H4N6) | Madin-Darby canine kidney cells | Enhanced antiviral activity of chicken macrophages. Significantly higher expression of IL-1β, IFN-γ, and IFN-α resulted in protective responses against infection | [33] |
| Lactobacillus casei DK128 | 2017 | Influenza virus A/Philippines/2/1982 (H3N2) | Female BALB/c mice | Prevented weight loss and along with higher survival rate and lower expression of IL-6 and TNF-α inflammatory cytokines | [18] |
| Bacillus subtilis 3 | 2017 | Influenza virus A/FM/1/47 (H1N1) | BALB/c mice | Reduced viral load in lungs and increased survival rate of infected mice | |
| Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 | 2017 | Upper respiratory tract infection | Clinical trial 233 participants |
Reduced provenance of upper respiratory tract infections along with a higher percentage of CD3+ cells | [51] |
|
Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota |
2017 | Upper respiratory tract infection | Clinical trial 96 participants |
Healthy subjects reported a significantly lower (22.4%) incidence of respiratory infections than 53.2% in the control group. | [52] |
| Lactobacillus plantarum | 2018 | H1N1 and H3N2 | Female BALB/c mice | Increased survival rate and significantly lower viral proliferation in the lungs of infected mice | [19] |
| Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei 431, and Lactobacillus fermentum PCC | 2018 | Upper respiratory tract infection | Clinical trial 136 participants |
50% to 60% reduced prevalence of common cold and flu-like symptoms and increased levels of IFN-γ and IgA | [41] |
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 | 2018 | Multiple diseases | A meta-analysis of 52 trials | Probiotics were most effective against acute respiratory tract infections, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, acute infectious diarrhea, infant colic, and necrotizing enterocolitis. | [45] |
| Bifidobacterium bifidum | 2019 | Influenza virus-A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) | Female BALB/c mice | Increased survival rate along with the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses |
[20] |
| Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 | 2019 | Respiratory syncytial virus-A2 strain | Female BALB/c mice | Reduced weight loss, lower viral load in the lungs of infected mice along with the reduced expression of proinflammatory cytokines | [34] |
|
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 |
2019 | Acute respiratory tract infections and acute otitis | A meta-analysis of 17 trials | Probiotic strains significantly reduced the prevalence of common acute infections and antibiotics utilization | [46] |