Bifidobacterium plantarum and Reduced Inflammation

Research synthesisLow evidenceModerate effect8 studies · 7 beneficial · 1 neutral · 0 harmful

Across 8 studies, 7 reported beneficial effects on reducing inflammation, with a predominant moderate effect size. The most robust evidence comes from a meta-analysis of athletes showing a statistically significant reduction in TNF-α (ES = -0.59). Evidence is largely from reviews and animal studies, limiting the strength of conclusions for specific human populations.

Studied populations: athletes

Caveats: Available evidence is overwhelmingly positive — clinical literature in this area is subject to publication bias (null-result studies are less likely to be published or indexed). Many included studies are reviews or animal experiments, and the only systematic review in adults with ALD found no significant effect on inflammatory markers. Most studies lack dose and form details, making it difficult to generalize.

Generated Jul 11, 2026

9 of 9 papers

Effects of probiotic supplementation on immune and inflammatory markers in athletes: an umbrella review and re-analysis of published meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials.
- 2026-02-26
- Meta-Analysis · n = 413
- PeerJ 14
- - Lei Chen
  - Aichun Li
  - Wenhao Chen
  - Junlai Zhou
  - Yujia Kou
- PubMed: 41773190
- DOI: 10.7717/peerj.20809
9 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- High evidence
- Rigorous Journal
Probiotic supplementation significantly reduced levels of the pro-inflammatory marker TNF-α (Effect Size (ES) = -0.59, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [-0.94 to -0.24], P = 0.001).
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate
Significant
Yes
Effects of probiotics on liver function, inflammation, and gut microbiota in alcoholic liver injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
- 2025-12-19
- Systematic Review · n = 12
- Frontiers in nutrition 12
- - Mohamed J Saadh
  - Zahraa Sabah Ghnim
  - Morug Salih Mahdi
  - Vimal Arora
  - M M Rekha
  - Ashish Sharma
  - Bhanu Juneja
  - Zafar Aminov
  - Waam Mohammed Taher
  - Mariem Alwan
  - Mahmood Jasem Jawad
  - Atheer Khdyair Hamad
- PubMed: 41487669
- DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1717393
7 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- High evidence
Probiotics did not significantly affect LPS, TNF-α, IL-1β, or IL-6, and IL-10.
Effect
Neutral
Effect size
Small
Significant
No
Overview of the immunomodulatory role of bacterial probiotic-derived peptidoglycan: from molecular insights to therapeutic application.
- 2026-02-26
- Review
- Frontiers in microbiology 17
- - Omer Qutaiba B Allela
  - Abdulkareem Shareef
  - Hayder Naji Sameer
  - Ahmed Yaseen
  - Zainab H Athab
  - Mohaned Adil
- PubMed: 41834851
- DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1761985
8 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
the context-dependent immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory functions of peptidoglycan
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate
Multispecies Probiotic Supplementation in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): Insights From Indian Nephrology Experts.
- 2026-01-28
- Review
- Cureus 18(1)
- - Pankaj Beniwal
  - Manish Singla
  - Deba Prasad Kar
  - Vinant Bhargava
  - Naman Chandra
  - D K Sinha
  - Vivek Ruhela
  - Rathan Jha
  - Rajesh Joseph
  - Vishnu Rs
  - Nitin Bhosle
  - Kapil Mehta
  - Sarita Bajpai
- PubMed: 41769608
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.102520
6 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
strengthen the intestinal barrier integrity, modulate the immune system, and mitigate systemic inflammation
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Small
Efficacy of Probiotic Supplementation in the Management of Psoriasis: A Systematic Review.
- 2025-12-01
- Review
- Cureus 17(12)
- - Muhammad Waqas
  - Inzamam Sarwar
- PubMed: 41487796
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.98265
4 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
Several included studies also reported improvements in inflammatory biomarkers and gut microbiota composition, which were narratively presented in this review.
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Small
Postbiotics: Multifunctional Microbial Products Transforming Animal Health and Performance.
- 2025-12-12
- Review
- Veterinary sciences 12(12)
- - Sahdeo Prasad
  - Bhaumik Patel
  - Prafulla Kumar
  - Rajiv Lall
- PubMed: 41472171
- DOI: 10.3390/vetsci12121191
13 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
They also inhibit pro-inflammatory molecules like TNF-α and IL-6, while enhancing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10.
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Ca360 Promotes Oral Iron Repletion, Alters the Gut Microbiota, and Regulates Host Metabolism and Inflammatory Status in a Murine Model of Iron Deficiency Anemia Caused by a Low-Iron Diet.
- 2026-03-12
- Nutrients 18(6)
- - Peiqing Jiang
  - Jing Yang
  - Yuejian Mao
  - Linjun Wu
  - Xiaoqiong Li
  - Xiangyu Bian
  - Jian Kuang
  - Jianqiang Li
  - Fangshu Shi
  - Xiaoqiang Han
  - Jinjun Li
  - Haibiao Sun
- PubMed: 41901074
- DOI: 10.3390/nu18060900
5 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
- Rigorous Journal
- Animal Study
the combined intervention more effectively improved hematological parameters... and alleviated hepatic inflammation.
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate
Modulation of gut-heart axis by synbiotic (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum M10 and Isomaltose) in high cholesterol diet induced atherosclerotic murine model.
- 2026-02-20
- BMC microbiology 26(1)
- - Siloni Patial
  - Khem Raj
  - Geeta Shukla
- PubMed: 41721244
- DOI: 10.1186/s12866-026-04840-z
11 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
downregulated NF-κβ expression, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α), reduced MCP-1 and ICAM-1, and elevated IL-10 levels
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Large
Bifidobacterium longum P77 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P72 and Their Mix-Live or Heat-Treated-Mitigate Sleeplessness and Depression in Mice: Involvement of Serotonergic and GABAergic Systems.
- 2025-10-03
- Cells 14(19)
- - Ji-Su Baek
  - Xiaoyang Ma
  - Hee-Seo Park
  - Dong-Yun Lee
  - Dong-Hyun Kim
- PubMed: 41090775
- DOI: 10.3390/cells14191547
8 Insights on
- Reduced Inflammation
- Low evidence
B. longum P77 reduced immobilization stress-induced corticosterone, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 expression... [and] decreased TNF-α and IL-6 expression and increased IL-10 expression in the colon.
Effect
Beneficial
Effect size
Moderate