A systematic review of the scientific literature, which included 58 individual studies, found that probiotics may exert benefits against viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) like the flu.
Of the 58 studies analyzed, nine of them were 9 human randomized controlled trials and the other 49 were animal studies. The human studies used probiotic strains from a variety of genera, including
Lactobacillus,
Lactococcus.
“To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first systematic review to report the role of gut microbiota manipulation on the risk and outcomes of viral RTIs,” stated researchers from Capital Medical University (Beijing), the Beijing Digestive Disease Center, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the
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IPA review: ‘Increasingly the evidence shows that the microbiome can have an impact on viral disease outcomes’ By Stephen Daniells A new review from experts at the International Probiotics Association and some its member companies explores current understanding around how the microbiome may protect against invasive viruses and discusses where the science stands for probiotics to have a positive impact.
Interest in how the microbiome and probiotics can support immune function and response has never been higher, with scientific studies reporting a potential role of the gut microbiota in the severity and duration of COVID-19. Such links led prominent scientists like Professor Glenn Gibson and Dr Gemma Walton from the University of Reading and Dr Kirsty Hunter from Nottingham Trent University to ask the UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock to assess the role of the gut microbiome in coronavirus�