Table 5 Evaluation of the included studies according to their microbiological quality
Author, year | Probiotic strain | Strain identification | Microbiological assessment | Microbiological flaw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Hosni, 2012 [33] | Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG | LGG identified at the strain level | No assessment | Moderate |
Bifidobacterium infantis | B. infantis identified via the web site of the producer: Bifantis (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624) | |||
Bin-Nun, 2005 [40] | Bifidobacterium infantis | Strains not identified at the strain level | No assessment | Severe |
Streptococcus thermophilus | ||||
Bifidobacterium bifidus | ||||
Braga, 2011 [35] | Lactobacillus casei | Strains non identified clearly | No assessment | Severe |
Bifidobacterium breve | ||||
Costalos, 2003 [49] | Saccharomyces boulardii | Strain not identified at the strain level | S. boulardii not characterized in stools. | Severe |
Gut flora assessed by plate count | ||||
Dani, 2002 [42] | Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Demirel, 2013 [28] | Saccharomyces boulardii | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Dilli, 2015 [44] | B. lactis | Strain non identified at the strain level but probably Bb12 | No assessment | Moderate |
Fernández-Carrocera, 2013 [32] | Lactobacillus acidophilus | Strains not identified at the strain level | No assessment | Severe |
Lactobacillus rhamnosus | ||||
Lactobacillus casei | ||||
Lactobacillus plantarum | ||||
Bifidobacterium infantis | ||||
Streptococcus thermophilus | ||||
Jacobs, 2013 [26] | Bifidobacterium infantis | Strains identified at the strain level | No assessment | Moderate |
Streptococcus thermophilus Bifidobacterium lactis | ||||
Kitajima, 1997 [52] | Bifidobacterium breve | Strain identified | Assessment by a strain-specific monoclonal antibody conjugated with colloidal gold particle | Minor |
Lin, 2005 [41] | Lactobacillus acidophilus | Strains not identified at the strain level | No assessment | Severe |
Bifidobacterium infantis | ||||
Lin, 2008 [37] | Lactobacillus acidophilus | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Bifidobacterium bifidum | ||||
Manzoni, 2006 [51] | Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Mihatsch, 2010 [43] | Bifidobacterium lactis | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Mohan, 2006 [53] | Bifidobacterium lactis | Strain identified | Species-specific (not strain-specific) assessment | Minor |
Oncel, 2013 [25] | Lactobacillus reuteri | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Patole, 2014 [45] | Bifidobacterium breve | Strain identified | Microbiological assessment by PCR | Minor |
Rojas, 2012 [30] | Lactobacillus reuteri | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |
Rougé, 2009 [50] | Bifidobacterium longum | Strain identified | Microbiological assessment by PCR | Minor |
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG | ||||
Roy, 2014 [58] | Lactobacillus acidophilus, B. longum, B. bifidum, and B. lactis | Strains not identified at the strain level/identification of the commercial product | No assessment | Moderate |
Saengtawesin, 2014 [48] | Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum | Strains not identified at the strain level/identification of the commercial product | No assessment | Moderate |
Samanta, 2009 | Bifidobacterium infantis | Strains not identified at the strain level | No assessment | Severe |
Bifidobacterium bifidum | ||||
Bifidobacterium longum | ||||
Lactobacillus acidophilus | ||||
Sari, 2011 [34] | Lactobacillus sporogenes | Strains not identified at the strain level | No assessment | Severe |
Serce, 2013 [27] | Saccharomyces boulardii | Strains not identified at the strain level | No assessment | Severe |
Stratiki, 2007 [39] | Bifidobacterium lactis | Strain identified | Assessment by plate count, no strain-specific assessment | Minor |
Totsu, 2014 [46] | Bifidobacterium bifidum | Strain identified | No assessment | Moderate |