Table 1.
Effects of the consumption of prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics on the incidence, duration and symptoms related to viral infections
| Prevention | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prebiotic and probiotic (alone or combinations), and dose | Duration | Population (n) and age | Main results | References |
| B-GOS, 5·5 g/d | Up to 67 d | Healthy subjects (n = 159), >18 years old | Decreased the duration of diarrhoea and abdominal pain, significant potential in preventing the incidence and symptoms of traveller’s diarrhoea | (175) |
| GOS, FOS or butyrate, 1·5 to 10 g/d; L. rhamnosus GG, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum KLD or Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745, 2·5 × 109 to 2 × 1011 CFU/d | Prebiotics: 42 d or more Probiotics: up to 28 d |
Healthy subjects (n = 7319), >18 years old | Only Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 decreased the incidence of traveller’s diarrhoea | (122) |
| Bifidobacterium longum BB536, 5 × 109 CFU/d | 10 months | Healthy children (n = 219), 2–6 years old | Decreased the duration of cough, sore throat, fever and runny nose | (176) |
| Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp. and/or Streptococcus spp. + FOS, GOS and/or inulin, 28–3000 mg of prebiotic/d and 106 to 10 × 109 CFU of probiotic/d | 2 weeks to 1 year | Healthy subjects (n = 10 443) of all ages | Decreased the risk of developing a respiratory tract infection, mainly in adults | (123) |
| Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Propionibacterium spp., Streptococcus spp. and/or α-Hemolytic streptococci, 2 × 108 to 1011 CFU/d | 14 d to 2 years | Healthy children (n = 4513), <18 years old | Decreased the numbers of days of respiratory tract infection per person | (81) |
| Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium spp., Clostridium butyricum, Lactococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc cremoris, Saccharomyces spp., Streptococcus spp., 108 CFU three times daily to 2 × 1010 CFU twice daily | 7–5 weeks | Outpatients (n = 3631) of all ages | Probiotics, especially the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii strains, reduced the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (ADD) by 51 % in outpatients of all ages. Doses >5 × 109 CFU/d were associated with fewer AAD events | (177) |
| Fermented milk with Lactobacillus casei ssp. Shirota, 1·5 × 1010 CFU/d | 6 months | Elderly person (n = 88), >60 years old | Reduced the number of days and mean duration of fever | (178) |
| Garlic extract, anthocyanins of blueberries, anthocyanins, flavonoids, flavonols, Iscucin Populi, isoflavones, pro-anthocyanidins, quercetin, Viscum Mali e planta tota, and l-theanine + epigallocatechin gallate, 0·2–1·2 g/d | 1–13 weeks | Healthy subjects (n = 727), 18–65 years old | Decreased the incidence (33 %) and sick-day count (40 %) of upper respiratory tract infections | (179) |
B., Bifidobacterium; B-GOS, Bimuno-galactooligosaccharides; CFU, colony-forming units; FOS, fructo-oligosaccharides; GOS, galacto-oligosaccharides; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; L., Lactobacillus; spp., species; ssp., subspecies.