The use of prebiotics during the first year of life for atopy prevention and treatment

Abstract

The incidence of allergic diseases has increased in recent decades. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of prebiotics for the prevention and treatment of allergic manifestations in children. We sought to conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of prebiotics in the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases in children. We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, LILACS, SciELO, IBECS, Web of Science and Clinical Trials databases as well as Google Scholar and the references of the articles identified. Randomised clinical trials, in which one of the treatments was performed with prebiotics and the control group was treated with placebo, were included in the review. The data selection were performed by two reviewers, and the study quality was evaluated according to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) items, according to the recommendations for improving the quality of reports of randomised clinical trials. The selected studies showed heterogeneity with regard to the participants, albeit with similar outcomes. The treatment group size ranged from 134 to 259 children, and the studies compared prebiotic to placebo treatment in each group. In general, these articles showed a trend toward less allergic reactions in the groups receiving active therapy with prebiotics. Although there was a trend for reduced allergic symptoms following the administration of prebiotics, there was not sufficient evidence to establish that such treatment is effective for the prevention of allergies in children.

Dietary Fiber Intake Regulates Intestinal Microflora and Inhibits Ovalbumin-Induced Allergic Airway Inflammation in a Mouse Model

“…Interestingly, Bacteroidetes bacteria are major producers of SCFAs and the increased ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes has also been observed in mice exposed to Western high-fat diets [ 9 , 13 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. In addition, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteriumare , as typical probiotic bacteria, enable the homeostasis of immune cells and decrease the susceptibility to allergic inflammation, well-supported by a mounting body of evidences [ 10 , 11 , 39 – 44 ]. Furthermore, the beneficial effect of E. coli against allergic diseases has also been confirmed in other animal studies [ 26 , 45 – 46 ].…”

Impact of the environment on the microbiome

“…There has been an interest to clarify the agents or nutrients involved in this process, especially with probiotics or prebiotics. 18 These provoked several interventions with different probiotic strains in pregnancy, the postnatal period, or both for the prevention of allergies. Most of these studies focused primarily on outcomes such as atopic dermatitis and food allergy mediated by IgE, and most showed a significant reduction in the development of AD (25% to 50%), but no consistent effects on any other result in allergic diseases.…”

Is A High-fiber Diet able to Influence Ovalbumin-induced Allergic Airway Inflammation in a Mouse Model?

“…Over the past decades, the incidence rates of allergic rhinitis and asthma have been increasing worldwide and seriously affect the quality of life levels in patients. 14,15 Despite of the experimental research from multiple perspectives, including variation in fermentation metabolites, 8,16 modulation of intestinal bacterial flora, 17,18 and even induction of immune tolerance, 12,19 and so forth, these internal relations and the influential mechanism remain, to a wide extent, unclear. Current dietary studies held that the increased epidemic of AAD was closely related to the modification of lifestyle, including the reduced intake of dietary fiber.…”