The use of probiotics and prebiotics can enable the ingestion of dairy products by lactose intolerant individuals
Oliveira LS, et al
Published in Clinical Nutrition
Methodology
Systematic review following PRISMA 2020 (PROSPERO CRD42022295691) with no date limits, searching SciELO, PubMed, LILACS, ScienceDirect and grey literature for randomised placebo-controlled trials of probiotics or prebiotics for lactose intolerance in adults; risk of bias assessed with RoB 2.0 and certainty with GRADE.
Key Findings
From 830 records, five randomised placebo-controlled trials met criteria. Two trials of the prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharide GOS (RP-G28) in 462 people showed improved lactose intolerance symptoms during treatment and for up to 30 days after stopping, with low risk of bias and high certainty of evidence. Three probiotic trials in 117 people found Bifidobacterium bifidum 900791 did not significantly improve symptoms, while Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 improved symptoms and reduced expired hydrogen, and Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 improved symptoms; risk of bias raised concerns in all three and certainty was low. Results could not be pooled because strains and outcomes differed.
Conclusions
B. bifidum 900791 did not significantly improve LI symptoms, and only Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 showed significant improvement in symptoms and in reduction of expired hydrogen.
Limitations
Only five trials in total, no meta-analysis was possible, and all three probiotic trials raised risk-of-bias concerns with low certainty evidence; results are strain-specific and cannot be generalised to probiotics as a category.
Supplements Studied
B. bifidum 900791 did not significantly improve LI symptoms, and only Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 showed significant improvement in symptoms and in reduction of expired hydrogen.
Related Health Concerns
Study Details
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This information is for educational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any supplement regimen.