Efficacy of Synbiotics in Patients with Slow Transit Constipation: A Prospective Randomized Trial
Open accessAbstract
Synbiotic intake may efficiently restore the balance of gut microbiota and improve gastrointestinal functions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a synbiotic in patients with slow transit constipation. A total of 100 patients with slow transit constipation were randomized to receive either a synbiotic or placebo twice daily for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoints were the clinical remission and improvement rates at weeks 4 and 12. Stool frequency and consistency, colonic transit time (CTT), evacuation and abdominal symptoms, patient assessment of constipation symptoms, gastrointestinal quality-of-life index scores, satisfaction scores, and adverse events were also monitored. The clinical remission rates reached 37.5% at week 4 and 45.8% at week 12 in the treatment group, compared to 13.3% at week 4 and 16.7% at week 12 in the placebo group (p < 0.01 for both comparisons). Over 12 weeks, 64.6% of the patients who received the synbiotic experienced clinical improvement, compared to 29.2% of the patients in the placebo group (p < 0.01). During the intervention period, patients who were treated with the synbiotic exhibited increased stool frequency, improved stool consistency, decreased CTT, and improved constipation-related symptoms. This randomized, placebo-controlled trial suggested that dietary supplementation with a synbiotic improved evacuation-parameters-associated symptoms and colonic motility in patients with slow transit constipation (STC).
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The systematic review included 17 randomised controlled trials comprising 1256 adult patients with functional constipation.
“17 studies, comprising 1256 participants, were included with perfect agreements between two researchers (kappa statistic=0.797).”
From Efficacy in bowel movement and change of gut microbiota on adult functional constipation patients treated with probiotics-containing products: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [18]
The Results (section 3.1; page unavailable) describe a single randomized trial: 100 patients were assigned to two groups, and 93 were included in the final analysis. The cited paper does not report a systematic review of 17 trials or 1,256 participants; the citing sentence’s study count and sample size are contrary to its reported design and results. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Vandeputte, D., Falony, G., Vieira-Silva, S., Tito, R. Y., Joossens, M., & Raes, J. (2016) · Gut · doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2015-309618 · Cited by 1,028 · see citing works
Ford, A. C., Quigley, E. M. M., Lacy, B. E., Lembo, A. J., Saito, Y. A., Schiller, L. R., Soffer, E. E., Spiegel, B. M. R., & Moayyedi, P. (2014) · American Journal of Gastroenterology · doi:10.1038/ajg.2014.202 · Cited by 747 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Currently, the combination of prebiotics and probiotics is called synbiotics, and it may have synergistic effects [19].”
BackgroundParthasarathy, G., Chen, J., Chen, X., Chia, N., O'Connor, H. M., Wolf, P. G., Gaskins, H. R., & Bharucha, A. E. (2016) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2015.10.005 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Structural changes in the gut microbiome of constipated patients
Zhu, L., Liu, W., Alkhouri, R., Baker, R. D., Bard, J. E., Quigley, E. M., & Baker, S. S. (2014) · Physiological Genomics · doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00082.2014 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Diagnosis and management of chronic constipation in adults
Rao, S. S. C., Rattanakovit, K., & Patcharatrakul, T. (2016) · Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology · doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2016.53 · Cited by 337 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 34
- [1]Nelson A.D. Camilleri M. Chirapongsathorn S. Vijayvargiya P. Valentin N. Shin A. Erwin P.J. Wang Z. Murad M.H. Comparison of efficacy of pharmacological treatments for chronic idiopathic constipation: A systematic review and network meta-analysis Gut 2016 10.1136/gutjnl-2016-311835 27287486 · DOI
- [2]Higgins P.D. Johanson J.F. Epidemiology of constipation in north america: A systematic review Am. J. Gastroenterol. 2004 99 750 759 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2004.04114.x 15089911 · DOI
- [3]Mugie S.M. Benninga M.A. Di Lorenzo C. Epidemiology of constipation in children and adults: A systematic review Best Pract. Res. Clin. Gastroenterol. 2011 25 3 18 10.1016/j.bpg.2010.12.010 21382575 · DOI
- [5]Bharucha A.E. Pemberton J.H. Locke G.R. III American gastroenterological association technical review on constipation Gastroenterology 2013 144 218 238 10.1053/j.gastro.2012.10.028 23261065 PMC3531555 · DOI
- [6]American Gastroenterological Association Bharucha A.E. Dorn S.D. Lembo A. Pressman A. American gastroenterological association medical position statement on constipation Gastroenterology 2013 144 211 217 10.1053/j.gastro.2012.10.029 23261064 · DOI · Paper page
- [7]Ford A.C. Suares N.C. Effect of laxatives and pharmacological therapies in chronic idiopathic constipation: Systematic review and meta-analysis Gut 2011 60 209 218 10.1136/gut.2010.227132 21205879 · DOI · Paper page
- [8]Camilleri M. Kerstens R. Rykx A. Vandeplassche L. A placebo-controlled trial of prucalopride for severe chronic constipation N. Engl. J. Med. 2008 358 2344 2354 10.1056/NEJMoa0800670 18509121 · DOI · Paper page
- [9]Sajid M.S. Hebbar M. Baig M.K. Li A. Philipose Z. Use of prucalopride for chronic constipation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized, controlled trials J. Neurogastroenterol. Motil. 2016 22 412 422 10.5056/jnm16004 27127190 PMC4930296 · DOI · Paper page
- [10]Cui H.H. Chen C.L. Wang J.D. Yang Y.J. Cun Y. Wu J.B. Liu Y.H. Dan H.L. Jian Y.T. Chen X.Q. Effects of probiotic on intestinal mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis World J. Gastroenterol. 2004 10 1521 1525 10.3748/wjg.v10.i10.1521 15133865 PMC4656296 · DOI
- [11]Kaczmarczyk M.M. Miller M.J. Freund G.G. The health benefits of dietary fiber: Beyond the usual suspects of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and colon cancer Metabolism 2012 61 1058 1066 10.1016/j.metabol.2012.01.017 22401879 PMC3399949 · DOI · Paper page
- [12]Tian L. Bruggeman G. van den Berg M. Borewicz K. Scheurink A.J. Bruininx E. de Vos P. Smidt H. Schols H.A. Gruppen H. Effects of pectin on fermentation characteristics, carbohydrate utilization and microbial community composition in the gastrointestinal tract of weaning pigs Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2016 10.1002/mnfr.201600186 27198846 · DOI
- [13]Voderholzer W.A. Schatke W. Muhldorfer B.E. Klauser A.G. Birkner B. Muller-Lissner S.A. Clinical response to dietary fiber treatment of chronic constipation Am. J. Gastroenterol. 1997 92 95 98 8995945
- [14]Tian L. Scholte J. Borewicz K. Bogert B.V. Smidt H. Scheurink A.J. Gruppen H. Schols H.A. Effects of pectin supplementation on the fermentation patterns of different structural carbohydrates in rats Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2016 10.1002/mnfr.201600149 27174558 · DOI
- [15]Chan A.O. Leung G. Tong T. Wong N.Y. Increasing dietary fiber intake in terms of kiwifruit improves constipation in chinese patients World J. Gastroenterol. 2007 13 4771 4775 10.3748/wjg.v13.i35.4771 17729399 PMC4611199 · DOI
- [16]Eswaran S. Muir J. Chey W.D. Fiber and functional gastrointestinal disorders Am. J. Gastroenterol. 2013 108 718 727 10.1038/ajg.2013.63 23545709 · DOI
- [17]Soret R. Chevalier J. De Coppet P. Poupeau G. Derkinderen P. Segain J.P. Neunlist M. Short-chain fatty acids regulate the enteric neurons and control gastrointestinal motility in rats Gastroenterology 2010 138 1772 1782 10.1053/j.gastro.2010.01.053 20152836 · DOI · Paper page
- [18]Fukumoto S. Tatewaki M. Yamada T. Fujimiya M. Mantyh C. Voss M. Eubanks S. Harris M. Pappas T.N. Takahashi T. Short-chain fatty acids stimulate colonic transit via intraluminal 5-ht release in rats Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 2003 284 R1269 R1276 10.1152/ajpregu.00442.2002 12676748 · DOI · Paper page
- [20]Morelli L. Zonenschain D. Callegari M.L. Grossi E. Maisano F. Fusillo M. Assessment of a new synbiotic preparation in healthy volunteers: Survival, persistence of probiotic strains and its effect on the indigenous flora Nutr. J. 2003 2 11 10.1186/1475-2891-2-11 14613507 PMC270007 · DOI
- [21]Drossman D.A. The functional gastrointestinal disorders and the rome iii process Gastroenterology 2006 130 1377 1390 10.1053/j.gastro.2006.03.008 16678553 · DOI · Paper page
- [22]Emmanuel A. Cools M. Vandeplassche L. Kerstens R. Prucalopride improves bowel function and colonic transit time in patients with chronic constipation: An integrated analysis Am. J. Gastroenterol. 2014 109 887 894 10.1038/ajg.2014.74 24732867 PMC4050523 · DOI
- [23]Agachan F. Chen T. Pfeifer J. Reissman P. Wexner S.D. A constipation scoring system to simplify evaluation and management of constipated patients Dis. Colon Rectum 1996 39 681 685 10.1007/BF02056950 8646957 · DOI
- [24]Ge X. Tian H. Ding C. Gu L. Wei Y. Gong J. Zhu W. Li N. Li J. Fecal microbiota transplantation in combination with soluble dietary fiber for treatment of slow transit constipation: A pilot study Arch. Med. Res. 2016 47 236 242 10.1016/j.arcmed.2016.06.005 27387020 · DOI
- [25]Frank L. Kleinman L. Farup C. Taylor L. Miner P. Jr. Psychometric validation of a constipation symptom assessment questionnaire Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 1999 34 870 877 10522604
- [26]Eypasch E. Williams J.I. Wood-Dauphinee S. Ure B.M. Schmulling C. Neugebauer E. Troidl H. Gastrointestinal quality of life index: Development, validation and application of a new instrument Br. J. Surg. 1995 82 216 222 10.1002/bjs.1800820229 7749697 · DOI
- [27]Waitzberg D.L. Logullo L.C. Bittencourt A.F. Torrinhas R.S. Shiroma G.M. Paulino N.P. Teixeira-da-Silva M.L. Effect of synbiotic in constipated adult women—A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of clinical response Clin. Nutr. 2013 32 27 33 10.1016/j.clnu.2012.08.010 22959620 · DOI
- [28]Li N. Jiang J. Feng X. Ding W. Liu J. Li J. Long-term follow-up of the jinling procedure for combined slow-transit constipation and obstructive defecation Dis. Colon Rectum 2013 56 103 112 10.1097/DCR.0b013e318273a182 23222287 · DOI
- [29]Drossman D.A. Functional gastrointestinal disorders: History, pathophysiology, clinical features and Rome IV Gastroenterology 2016 150 1262 1279 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.02.032 27144617 · DOI
- [33]Tian H. Ding C. Gong J. Ge X. McFarland L.V. Gu L. Wei Y. Chen Q. Zhu W. Li J. Treatment of slow transit constipation with fecal microbiota transplantation: A pilot study J. Clin. Gastroenterol. 2016 10.1097/MCG.0000000000000472 26751143 · DOI
- [34]Christodoulides S. Dimidi E. Fragkos K.C. Farmer A.D. Whelan K. Scott S.M. Systematic review with meta-analysis: Effect of fibre supplementation on chronic idiopathic constipation in adults Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 2016 44 103 116 10.1111/apt.13662 27170558 · DOI
- [35]Suares N.C. Ford A.C. Systematic review: The effects of fibre in the management of chronic idiopathic constipation Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 2011 33 895 901 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2011.04602.x 21332763 · DOI
- [36]Dongowski G. Lorenz A. Proll J. The degree of methylation influences the degradation of pectin in the intestinal tract of rats and in vitro J. Nutr. 2002 132 1935 1944 12097673
- [37]Onumpai C. Kolida S. Bonnin E. Rastall R.A. Microbial utilization and selectivity of pectin fractions with various structures Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2011 77 5747 5754 10.1128/AEM.00179-11 21724897 PMC3165253 · DOI
- [38]Wong J.M. de Souza R. Kendall C.W. Emam A. Jenkins D.J. Colonic health: Fermentation and short chain fatty acids J. Clin. Gastroenterol. 2006 40 235 243 10.1097/00004836-200603000-00015 16633129 · DOI · Paper page
- [39]Muller-Lissner S. Tack J. Feng Y. Schenck F. Specht Gryp R. Levels of satisfaction with current chronic constipation treatment options in europe - an internet survey Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 2013 37 137 145 10.1111/apt.12124 23126338 · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
World Gastroenterology Organisation Global Guidelines: Probiotics and Prebiotics
Guarner, F., Sanders, M. E., Szajewska, H., Cohen, H., Eliakim, R., Herrera-deGuise, C., Karakan, T., Merenstein, D., Piscoya, A., Ramakrishna, B., et al. (2024) · Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology · doi:10.1097/mcg.0000000000002002 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Pan, R., Wang, L., Xu, X., Chen, Y., Wang, H., Wang, G., Zhao, J., & Chen, W. (2022) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu14183704 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Self-citationZhang, C., Jiang, J., Tian, F., Zhao, J., Zhang, H., Zhai, Q., & Chen, W. (2020) · Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2020.01.005 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Miller, L. E. (2017) · Annals of Gastroenterology · doi:10.20524/aog.2017.0192 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Araújo, M. M., & Botelho, P. B. (2022) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.935830 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Association of Parkinson’s Disease With Microbes and Microbiological Therapy
Chen, Z.-J., Liang, C.-Y., Yang, L.-Q., Ren, S.-M., Xia, Y.-M., Cui, L., Li, X.-F., & Gao, B.-L. (2021) · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.619354 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Huang, L. S., Kong, C., Gao, R. Y., Yan, X., Yu, H. J., Wen, B., Zhu, Q., Shen, T. Y., Sun, Z. L., & Qin, H. L. (2018) · European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases · doi:10.1007/s10096-017-3149-7 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Lim, Y. J., Jamaluddin, R., Hazizi, A. S., & Chieng, J. Y. (2018) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu10070824 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Chronic constipation and gut microbiota: current research insights and therapeutic implications
Xu, X., Wang, Y., Long, Y., & Cheng, Y. (2024) · Postgraduate Medical Journal · doi:10.1093/postmj/qgae112 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Ding, F., Hu, M., Ding, Y., Meng, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2024) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074557 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ding, C., Ge, X., Zhang, X., Tian, H., Wang, H., Gu, L., Gong, J., Zhu, W., & Li, N.
- Affiliations
- Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Gong, Jianfeng
- Li, Ning
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2016-09-28
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 605
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5083993
- OpenAlex
- W2523771096
- Cited by
- 55
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 3.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (81270006)
- National Gastroenterology Research Project (2015BAI13B07)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Keywords
- synbiotics, slow transit constipation, gut microbiota, colonic transit time, stool frequency, stool consistency, colonic motility, clinical remission, gastrointestinal quality of life, dietary supplementation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review