Design and reporting of prebiotic and probiotic clinical trials in the context of diet and the gut microbiome

Diet is frequently overlooked as a factor in probiotic and prebiotic studies, despite playing a key role in shaping both host gastrointestinal function and microbiota features known to have a significant influence on prebiotic and probiotic efficacy. A group of 8 international experts, led by Prof Maria Marco PhD and Prof Kevin Whelan PhD, explored these issues in a Perspective paper published in Nature Microbiology. The authors call for researchers across the globe to collect data on participants’ background diets as part of their future probiotic and prebiotic trials. Toward this end, they provide ten recommendations on the design, conduct and reporting of future probiotic and prebiotic clinical trials.

REFERENCE:

Whelan K, Alexander M, Gaiani C, Lunken G, Holmes A, Staudacher HM, Theis S, Marco ML. Design and reporting of prebiotic and probiotic clinical trials in the context of diet and the gut microbiome. Nat Microbiol. 2024;9(11):2785-2794. doi: 10.1038/s41564-024-01831-6. View-only full-text link.