Effects of probiotic supplementation on faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Authors

Kincső Csepke Földvári-Nagy, Yasmin Zubeida Al-Gharati, Dániel Sándor Veres, Tamás Schnabel, Katalin Lenti, Anna Júlia Éliás, László Földvári-Nagy

Published in

Nutrition journal. Jul 13, 2026. Epub Jul 13, 2026.

Abstract

Short-chain fatty acids produced by microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tract are known to have numerous beneficial effects. Because certain probiotic strains may influence short-chain fatty acid production, probiotic supplementation has been proposed as a potential strategy to modify faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations. Our aim was to investigate whether probiotics modify faecal short-chain fatty acid levels in healthy populations via systematic review and meta-analysis.
We performed a systematic search of the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases on 12/04/2024. We analysed exclusively randomized controlled trials meeting all the following criteria: population: healthy people; intervention: probiotic supplementation; control: no probiotic supplementation; outcome: faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations. A total of 9217 articles were reviewed, 21 of which met the preset inclusion criteria. Twelve articles, including 541 subjects, were eligible for meta-analysis of changes in faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations. The standardized mean difference (SMD, Hedges' g) was chosen as the effect indicator due to the different measurement techniques used. A random-effects model was used to estimate SMD with 95% confidence interval (CI) due to the expected heterogeneity.
No statistically significant differences were detected in the faecal butyrate (SMD = 0.07, 95%CI:[(-)0.16 - 0.30]), acetate (SMD = 0.06, 95%CI:[(-)0.14 - 0.27]), and propionate (SMD = 0.09, 95%CI:[(-)0.07 - 0.25]) levels between individuals taking and not taking probiotics.
Our results suggest that probiotic intake has a minor effect on faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations, but this effect is not statistically detectable in healthy individuals. Thus, there is insufficient evidence of statistically significant effect of probiotic supplementation on stool short-chain fatty acid concentrations in healthy individuals.
Research protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022286137).

PMID:
42437924
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

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