Table 2 Probiotic interventions

From: The effects of oral probiotic intervention on brain structure and function in human adults: a systematic review

Study

Study design

Probiotic strain(s)

Daily dose

Intervention period

Medium

Placebo treatment

Compliance

Studies analysing single-strain products

Malaguarnera et al.49

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium longum W11

5.0 × 109 CFU

90 days

Powder containing 2.5 g fructo-oligosaccharides and vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12 dissolved in water or milk

Vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12 dissolved in water or milk#

Compliance cutoff 80–120%

Kelly et al.34

Cross-over

Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus

1.0 × 109 CFU

4 weeks

Capsule containing corn starch, magnesium stearate, and silicon dioxide

Capsule containing corn starch, magnesium stearate, and silicon dioxide without the probiotic strain*

Not reported

Pinto-Sanchez et al.50

Martin et al.51

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001

1.0 × 1010 CFU

6 weeks

Maltodextrin-based powder dissolved in lactose-free milk

Maltodextrin-based powder without the probiotic strain dissolved in lactose-free milk*

Checked but not reported

Takada et al.36

Parallel arm

Lacticaseibacillus casei Shirota YIT 9029

1.0 × 1011 CFU

11 weeks

Fermented milk

Milk with added lactic acid without the probiotic strain#

Placebo: 97.0%

Probiotic: 97.5%

Nakagawa et al.45

Cross-over

Lactobacillus helveticus MIKI-020

200 mg of live lactic acid bacteria powder, 8 times/day

4 weeks

Tablets containing 900 mg of fermented products of L. helveticus MIKI-020, 200 mg of ground lactic acid bacteria powder, and 200 mg of theanine (and maltitol, lactose, calcium stearate, lactic acid, flavour, yeast extract)

Tablets without the probiotic strain, probiotic-derived products, and theanine (and maltitol, lactose, calcium stearate, lactic acid, flavor, yeast extract)#

Compliance <75% led to exclusion from the study

Wang et al.39

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium longum 1714TM

1.0 × 109 CFU

4 weeks

Maltodextrin-based powder dissolved in 50 mL of water

Maltodextrin-based powder without the probiotic strain dissolved in 50 mL of water*

Not reported

Adikari et al.35

Parallel arm

Lacticaseibacillus casei Shirota

3.0 × 1010 CFU

8 weeks

Cultured milk (80 mL) mixed with orange fruit juice (120 mL)

200 mL of orange fruit juice#

Not reported

Ho et al.46

Parallel arm

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum PS128

3.0 × 1010 CFU

30 days

Microcrystalline cellulose capsules

Microcrystalline cellulose capsules without the probiotic strain*

Compliance >98%

Asaoka et al.48

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274

2.0 × 1010 CFU

24 weeks

Mainly maize starch-based powder

Maize starch-based powder without the probiotic strain#

Placebo: 96.1 ± 5.2%

Probiotic: 97.2 ± 3.5%

Kikuchi-Hayakawa et al.47

Cross-over

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Shirota YIT 9029

1.0 × 1011 CFU

4 weeks

Fermented milk

Non-fermented milk with added lactic acid without the probiotic strain#

Placebo: 99.7%

Probiotic: 100%

Mutoh et al.44

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium breve M-16V

2.0 × 1010 CFU

6 weeks

Maltodextrin-based powder formed into a stick

Maltodextrin-based powder+

Placebo: 99.1%

Probiotic: 97.9%

Li et al.56

Parallel arm

Pediococcus acidilactici CCFM6432

1.0 × 109 CFU

30 days

Powder, consumed directly or dissolved in water

Powder+

Checked but exact details not reported (6 participants were excluded due to compliance issues)

Studies analysing multi-strain products

Tillisch et al.31

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium lactis

1.25 × 1010 CFU, 2 doses/day

4 weeks

Fermented milk

A non-fermented milk without probiotics+

Compliance <75% led to exclusion from the study

Lactobacillus bulgaricus

1.2 × 109 CFU, 2 doses/day

Lactococcus lactis

Not reported, 2 doses/day

Streptococcus thermophilus

1.2 × 109 CFU, 2 doses/day

Bagga et al.37

Bagga et al.38

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium bifidum W23

7.5 × 109 CFU

4 weeks

Freeze-dried powder of maize starch and maltodextrin dissolved in milk or lukewarm water

Freeze-dried powder of maize starch and maltodextrin without the probiotic strains dissolved in milk or lukewarm water+

Checked but not reported

Bifidobacterium lactis W51

Bifidobacterium lactis W52

Lacticaseibacillus casei W56

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei W20

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum W62

Lactobacillus acidophilus W22

Lactococcus lactis W19

Ligilactobacillus salivarius W24

Papalini et al.32

Bloemendaal et al.33

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium bifidum W23

5.0 × 109 CFU

28 days

Powder consisting of maize starch, maltodextrin, vegetable protein and a mineral mix dissolved in water or milk

Powder consisting of maize starch, maltodextrin, vegetable protein and a mineral mix dissolved in water or milk*

Not reported

Bifidobacterium lactis W51

Bifidobacterium lactis W52

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei W56

Lactobacillus acidophilus W37

Lactococcus lactis W19

Lactococcus lactis W58

Levilactobacillus brevis W63

Ligilactobacillus salivarius W24

Ascone et al.40,81

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium breve

4.5 × 109 CFU

28 days

Maltose-based powder dissolved in water, milk, juice or similar

A commercially available baby milk-powder dissolved in water, milk, juice or similar#

Not reported

Bifidobacterium lactis NCIMB 30435

Bifidobacterium lactis NCIMB 30436

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum

Lactobacillus acidophilus

Lactobacillus helveticus

Streptococcus thermophilus

Edebol Carlman et al.41

Rode et al.42

Rode et al.43

Cross-over

Bifidobacterium longum R0175

7.0 × 107 CFU

4 weeks

Inulin- and fructose-based powder with zinc, magnesium, potassium, glutathione, lactoferrin, sweeteners, dyes and aroma

dissolved in a glass of water

Fructose-based powder with sweeteners, dyes and aroma dissolved in a glass of water#

Compliance >90%

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum R1012

8.0 × 108 CFU

Lactobacillus helveticus R0052

2.0 × 109 CFU

Schaub et al.53

Yamanbaeva et al.54

Schneider et al.55

Parallel arm

Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB 30441

9.0 × 109 CFU

31 days

Maltose-based powder dissolved in any cold, non-carbonated drink

Maltose-based powder without the probiotic strains dissolved in any cold, non-carbonated drink*

Placebo: 86%

Probiotic: 83%

Bifidobacterium lactis NCIMB 30435

Bifidobacterium lactis NCIMB 30436

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei NCIMB 30439

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NCIMB 30437

Lactobacillus acidophilus NCIMB 30442

Lactobacillus helveticus

Streptococcus thermophilus NCIMB 30438

Ranisavljev et al.52,57

Parallel arm

Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus DSM 32550

5.1 × 109 CFU at study start, 1.4 × 109 CFU at study end; input ratio

of the different strains was 13.3: 3.6: 8.0: 1

3 months

Powder containing 2.5 g fructo-oligosaccharides, 5 mg zinc, maltodextrin dissolved in lukewarm water

Maltodextrin dissolved in lukewarm water#

Not reported

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DSM 34532

Bifidobacterium lactis DSM 32269

Bifidobacterium longum DSM 32946

  1. CFU Colony-forming units. This table is sorted by publication year and alphabetical order of first author; for studies comprised of several articles, the first published was considered as the reference point. The names of some probiotic strains were updated according to the recently adopted nomenclature and taxonomy82. Additional information, e.g., on commercial product name, product manufacturer and study funding source, can be found in Supplementary Table 8. *identical composition without probiotic(s), #clearly different composition, not only without probiotic(s), +comparison of products not entirely clear by information provided.
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