Table 4.
The characteristics of some clinical trials of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics for treating UC.
| Study | N (Treatment/Control) | Treatment | Species | Control | Efficacy | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen et al. (193) | 25 (12/13) | Probiotic | A probiotic product that contained L. casei Zhang, L. plantarum P-8 and B. animalis subsp. lactis V9 | Dextrin | The overall remission rate was 91.67% for the probiotic group vs. 69.23% for the placebo group (P = 0.034) | - |
| Bjarnason et al. (173) | 81 (40/41) | Probiotic | Symprove (contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus NCIMB 30174, Lactobacillus plantarum NCIMB 30173, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCIMB 30175 and Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 30176 | Water and flavoring | The calprotectin levels were significantly decreased following 4 weeks in the probiotic group (p = 0.011 and 0.001, t-test and Wilcoxon's, respectively) | - |
| Yilmaz et al. (194) | 25 (15/10) | Probiotic | Kefir (Lactobacillus Bacteria) | - | No statistically significant difference was found between weeks 1 and 2 in patients with UC in terms of abdominal pain, bloating, frequency of stools, defecation consistency, and feeling good. | No adverse events were reported. |
| Kamarli et al. (183) | 36 (18/18) | Synbiotic | A symbiotic which concluded six probiotics: Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus plantarum, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum and fructooligosaccharide. | Placebo product which has the same taste and appearance | The change in the CRP and sedimentation values had a statistically significant decrease in the synbiotic group (P = 0.003). The improvement in the clinical activity was significantly higher in the synbiotic group (p < 0.05). | - |
| Yoshimatsu et al. (195) | 46 (23/23) | Probiotic | A tablet contains Streptococcus faecalis T-110, Clostridium butyricum TO-A and Bacillus mesentericus TO-A | A placebo tablet which contains starch | The relapse rates in the treatment and placebo groups were 0.0% vs. 17.4% at months (p = 0.036). At 12 months, the remission rate was 69.5% in the treatment group and 56.6% in the placebo group (p = 0.248). | - |
| Matsuoka et al. (196) | 192 (97/95) | Probiotic | Mil–Mil (a fermented milk product containing B. breve strain Yakult and Lactobacillus acidophilus | - | Relapse-free survival was not significantly different between the treatment and placebo groups (P = 0.643) | Three mild adverse events occurred which could not be ruled out whether is associated with the probiotic. |