Probiotic SYNBIO® Blend's Impact on Constipation in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Aims: Research on probiotics for constipation management is still growing, and plays a crucial role in the definition of a management strategy for bowel wellbeing, constipation, and related outcomes. The present systematic review and meta-analysis of the beneficial effects of the SYNBIO® blend, to consolidate the data from various clinical trials, was conducted. Methods: A literature search using PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases was conducted. The search was limited to clinical trials that used the SYNBIO® blend, either as dietary supplements or probiotic-enriched foods. Independently, two reviewers evaluated the trial’s quality and extracted all data. A 95% confidence interval (CI) of a weighted mean difference (MD) was used to pool continuous data. For the analysis, Review Manager version 5.4 was used. Results: Seven clinical trials involving a total of 1095 subjects were included in the analysis. Overall, the SYNBIO® blend significantly improved constipation relief by 0.75 (95% CI: 0.31 to 1.19; p = 0.0008) in 52% of the subjects, and significantly increased intestinal regularity by 1.90 compared to the placebo (95% CI: 1.02 to 2.78; p < 0.0001) in more than 60% of individuals. No adverse events were reported. Conclusions: The SYNBIO® blend was found to significantly improve overall constipation, intestinal regularity, abdominal pain, and intestinal cramping. This suggests that people with these specific symptoms could benefit from this probiotic combination.