Specific probiotics are effective for treating irritable bowel syndrome

Paul Moayyedi, Alexander C. Ford, N. J. Talley, Filippo Cremonini, Amy E. Foxx–Orenstein, Lawrence J. Brandt, Eamonn M.M. Quigley. The efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1136/gut.2008.167270

This early systematic review established that probiotics are statistically significantly more effective than placebo in treating global IBS symptoms.

H. J. Kim, Michael Camilleri, Sanna McKinzie, Mary B. Lempke, Duane D. Burton, G. M. Thomforde, Alan R. Zinsmeister. A randomized controlled trial of a probiotic, VSL#3, on gut transit and symptoms in diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome. 2003. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2036.2003.01543.x

This randomized controlled trial demonstrated that the probiotic formulation VSL#3 significantly reduced abdominal bloating in diarrhea-predominant IBS patients.

Tina Didari. Effectiveness of probiotics in irritable bowel syndrome: Updated systematic review with meta-analysis. 2015. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v21.i10.3072

This meta-analysis concluded that probiotics reduce pain and symptom severity scores, showing beneficial effects compared to placebo.

Lynne V. McFarland, Sascha Dublin. Meta-analysis of probiotics for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. 2008. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.14.2650

This meta-analysis found that probiotic use was associated with improvements in global IBS symptoms and reductions in abdominal pain relative to placebo.

Tao Zhang, Cunzheng Zhang, Jindong Zhang, Feng Sun, Liping Duan. Efficacy of Probiotics for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.859967

This network meta-analysis evaluated multiple randomized trials and identified specific probiotic species like B. coagulans with prominent efficacy in treating IBS.

Vivek C. Goodoory, Mais Khasawneh, Christopher J. Black, Eamonn M.M. Quigley, Paul Moayyedi, Alexander C. Ford. Efficacy of Probiotics in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2023.07.018

This updated systematic review concluded that specific strains and combinations of probiotics provide demonstrable benefits for global symptoms and abdominal pain in IBS.

C. Martoni, S. Srivastava, G. Leyer. Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 and Bifidobacterium lactis UABla-12 Improve Abdominal Pain Severity and Symptomology in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Randomized Controlled Trial. 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12020363

This randomized controlled trial demonstrated that specific strains such as Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 and Bifidobacterium lactis UABla-12 significantly improved abdominal pain and symptom severity in IBS patients.