Oral postbiotics derived from Lactobacillus sp. in treatment of atopic dermatitis: a meta-analysis

Introduction: The use of postbiotics, which are defined as dead microorganisms and/or their components that provide health benefits to the target host, has been shown to reduce the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD) in several studies. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted in Pubmed, the Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar, covering the period from January 2012 to July 2022 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. AD patients of all ages that received oral postbiotics or placebo as treatment were the focus of the study. The main study outcome was the scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) and other measures, such as extension area, disease intensity, and adverse events. The final data were pooled using a fixed-effect model. Results: A meta-analysis of three studies found that, compared to placebo, SCORAD was lower in subjects that were given oral postbiotics from Lactobacillus sp. (mean difference: −2.90, 95% confidence interval [CI; −4.21, −1.59], p < 0.00001). From the comparison of two studies, the differences in disease extension (mean difference: −2.40, 95% CI [−7.67, 2.81], p = 0.37) and intensity (mean difference: −0.27, 95% CI [−0.84, 0.30], p = 0.36) were not significant. Conclusions: The administration of oral postbiotics from Lactobacillus sp. has the potential to alleviate the severity of AD as indicated by a reduction in SCORAD scores.