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Existing evidence on the possible effects of probiotics on inflammatory status is inconclusive. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the effects of probiotic consumption on inflammatory markers among athletes. A systematic literature search was performed in the databases PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of science, Cochrane's library, and Google Scholar (up to July 2020). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of probiotics on inflammatory markers in athletes were included. Jadad scale was used for quality assessment. In fixed-effects meta-analysis model, standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) demonstrated the overall effect. Any possibility of publication bias was inspected through Egger's and Begg's statistics. A total of 14 RCTs with 393 participants were included. Probiotic consumption resulted in a significant decrease in plasma concentrations of interleukin-6 (SMD = -0.58; 95% CI, -0.87 to -0.28; P˂0.001) and tumor necrosis factor-α (SMD = -0.72; 95% CI, -1.11 to -0.33; P < .001), and significant increase in interferon-γ (SMD = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.76; P = .012). The effects were more pronounced when probiotics were consumed in Asian, male athletes, using a single strain capsule or when they were consumed for lower than 4 weeks. Probiotic supplements may be beneficial to improve inflammatory markers, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current evidence about the feasible effects of probiotic consumption on the metabolic status of athletes including lipid profile, fecal zonulin, and cortisol is debatable. Therefore, the present systematic reviewed and meta-analysis was aimed to clarify this inconclusiveness. Online databases (PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane's library) were searched until May 2020. The overall effect was presented as weighted mean difference (WMD) or standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in a random-effects meta-analysis model. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's and Begg's statistics. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool was used for quality assessment. Eleven RCTs (n = 398 participants) were considered as eligible. Probiotic consumption significantly decreased fecal zonulin (SMD = -0.63; 95% CI, -1.17 to -0.08; P = .02) with significant heterogeneity (I² = 79.4%, P = .008). Also, serum triglyceride (WMD = -32.26 mg/dL; 95% CI, -60.44 to -4.08; P = .02) was reduced with high heterogeneity across the studies (I² = 93.0%, P < .001). Subgroup analysis revealed that probiotic consumption did increase HDL-C among non-Asian studies. Also, serum triglyceride was higher when probiotics were consumed as food, among non-Asian population, and for less than 4 weeks. Probiotics may be beneficial to improve metabolic markers in athletes including fecal zonulin and serum triglyceride. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]