Probiotics and the diversity of the gut microbiome

Hungarian researchers analyzed the effect of probiotic supplementation on gut microbiome diversity during antibiotic therapy (PROSPERO study). The results are published in the journal BMC Medicine. Probiotic supplementation does not restore gut microbiome diversity. Baseline levels are restored on average 3-8 weeks after therapy ends.

They analyzed results from 11,769 studies from MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL databases through October 2021. Fifteen studies with a total of 877 participants were taken. All participants were taking antibiotics with or without probiotics.

The results showed that the diversity of the gut microbiome in people who received probiotics was not significantly different from the control group. The mean difference of Shannon diversity indices in the probiotic group and among participants who received antibiotic therapy alone was 0.23, and the mean difference of Chao1 indices was 11.59. The mean difference in the number of operational taxonomic units between the two groups was 17.15. The initial level of microbiome diversity was restored on average after 3-8 weeks.