Antiviral effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria; a systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Background Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are one of the most important strains of probiotics. Some of them are normal flora of human mucous membranes in the gastrointestinal system, skin, urinary tract, and genitalia. There is evidence suggesting that LAB has an antiviral effect on viral infections. However, these studies are still controversial and a systematic review was conducted to evaluate the antiviral effects of LAB on viral infections. Methods The systematic search was conducted until the end of December 17, 2022, in international databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline (via PubMed). The keywords of our search were Lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillales, Lactobacillus (as well as its species), Probiotics, Antiviral, Inhibitory effect, and Virus. Results Of 15.408 potentially relevant articles obtained at the end of our search, 45 eligible in-vivo human studies were selected for inclusion in the study from databases and registers and citation searching. We conducted a systematic review of the antiviral effects of the LAB based on the included articles. The most commonly investigated labs are Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus Casei. Conclusion Our study indicates that most of our included articles support the positive effect of LAB on viral infections although some studies showed no significant positive effect of LABs on some viral infections.