Probiotics/prebiotics cannot prevent the onset of allergy

Abstract

Accumulating evidences on the immunological mechanisms of probiotics and prebiotics suggest their potential effects for prevention of allergic diseases. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews of interventional studies revealed that probiotics reduced the risk of eczema but not other allergic conditions, whereas prebiotics decreased the risk of developing food allergies and wheeze/asthma. The certainty in the evidences is very low due to the risk of publishing bias, inconsistency and imprecision of the results. Therefore, major guidelines don't actively recommend probiotics and prebiotics for prevention of allergic diseases. Because of the diminution of regulatory T cell inducing ability of probiotics and prebiotics after their discontinuation and the refractoriness of some high-risk infants, probiotics and prebiotics are not recommended without the establishment of measures to identify suitable subjects and the intervention procedures.