Probiotic Guide US

The Clinical Guide to Probiotic Products available in the US is designed to translate scientific evidence available for probiotic products into practical, clinically relevant information, enabling clinicians to easily select the appropriate product, dose, and format for a specific indication.

Currently, the body of evidence for probiotic interventions is growing along with popular demand for these products. Our aim is to ensure that the appropriate product/strain is selected for the desired outcome. This guide is not meant to be interpreted as a meta-analysis or systematic review, nor is it an endorsement for companies to market health claims.

Published data or studies with defined clinical outcomes for probiotic strain(s) were searched, using inclusion criteria as listed in the guide. Commercially available products containing said strain(s) were identified, and the modified levels of evidence were used to rate the strength of the recommendation for each product. Once this information was compiled into a comprehensive chart form, it was assessed by independent expert reviewers. Readers are strongly encouraged to review the evidence listed for each product for themselves.

DISCLAIMER: This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information in this guide is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This guide is meant to be used as a clinical decision-making tool to assist health care professionals in providing evidence-based recommendations for their patients. In the case of probiotics, the clinical evidence supports only certain formulations/brand names of the probiotics (including the genus, species, alphanumeric designation or strain, number of live bacteria present, the blend of probiotic strains present and finally, the non-active ingredients present). Every attempt was made by the author and the reviewers to include the published clinical data for the available probiotic formulations. No bias is intended toward any specific formulation. This chart is reflective of published evidence available to date. It does not represent an endorsement of any specific product. Work on this guide was carried out independently and without financial conflict. In order to minimize bias, publishing and distribution efforts are coordinated via the Alliance for Education on Probiotics (AEP). We are grateful for the unrestricted publishing grant the AEP is providing for continuous efforts to translate science into clinically applicable form.

Please forward any questions or comments to the author Dragana Skokovic-Sunjic ([email protected])

2017 Version, valid until Dec. 31, 2017. © BHSoftInc