Effects of probiotic supplementation on natural killer cell function in healthy elderly individuals: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Open accessAbstract
To evaluate evidence for the role of probiotic supplementation in enhancing natural killer (NK) cell function in healthy elderly individuals. Five electronic databases were searched, and references of included articles and eligible reviews up to December 2019, with English language and human subject restrictions, were examined. Two independent reviewers identified randomized control trials (RCTs) of probiotic supplementation influencing NK cell function in healthy elderly individuals, assessed the quality of every article, and extracted data for subsequent meta-analysis. We identified six eligible trials including 364 healthy elderly subjects. Trials were heterogeneous in study design and probiotic supplementation (including genus, strain, dose, and duration). Five trials used Lactobacillus interventions alone or in combination with Bifidobacterium. Only one trial focused on Bacillus coagulans. The duration of supplementation ranged from 3 to 12 weeks, and the doses, from 1 × 10 9 to 4 × 10 10 colony-forming units. Pooling data of eligible trials showed that probiotics significantly (P < 0.05) increased NK cell activity in healthy elderly individuals (standardized mean difference = 0.777, 95% confidence interval: 0.187‒1.366, P = 0.01, I 2 = 84.6%). Although we obtained a significant outcome, the data do not provide convincing evidence for associations between probiotic supplementation and enhancement of NK cell function, given the small final number and very large heterogeneity. More RCTs with sufficient sample sizes and long-term follow-up are needed to focus on optimal probiotic dose, species, and duration of supplementation for healthy elderly individuals.
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A review of six randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials concluded that probiotics significantly increased natural killer cell activity in healthy elderly individuals.
“A recent review of six randomized, placebo controlled clinical trials (RCT), with various strains and dosages, concluded that probiotics significantly increased NK cell activity in healthy elderly individuals (Gui et al., 2020).”
From Viral Infections, the Microbiome, and Probiotics (2021) · cites this paper as Gui et al., 2020
The conclusion that probiotics increase natural killer cell activity in healthy elderly individuals is not definitive because of heterogeneity among studies and small numbers of participants.
“The authors did however caution that this conclusion is not definitive given the heterogeneity among studies and small numbers of participants involved.”
From Viral Infections, the Microbiome, and Probiotics (2021) · cites this paper as Gui et al., 2020
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- Authors
- Gui, Q., Wang, A., Zhao, X., Huang, S., Tan, Z., Xiao, C., & Yang, Y.
- Affiliations
- First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University (CN)
- Hangzhou Medical College (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Xiao, Chi
- Venue
- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Published
- 2020-06-08
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1630-1637
- ISSN
- 0954-3007 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-5640
- PMC
- PMC7279433
- OpenAlex
- W3034053363
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 0.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFC2000501, 2018YFC2000301)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Keywords
- probiotics, natural killer cells, NK cell function, older adults, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacillus coagulans, immunosenescence, dietary supplementation, gut microbiota
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Health Status, Humans, Killer Cells, Natural, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Probiotics, Healthy Volunteers
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