Effects of probiotic administration on hepatic antioxidative parameters depending on oxidative stress models: A meta-analysis of animal experiments

Abstract

• Probiotic treatment had significantly increased hepatic SOD and GSH-PX activities. • The decrease of MDA was significant in probiotic intervention. • Hepatic effects of probiotics were related with types of oxidative stress models. Hepatic antioxidative substances are critical indicators to characterize the degree of oxidative stress in the body. The overall effects of probiotic administration on hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were systematically evaluated through determining standardised mean difference (SMD). As a result, the meta-analysis of 23 research papers involving five kinds of oxidative stress models revealed that probiotic intervention significantly increased the levels of SOD by 114% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.70, 1.59; P < 10 −5 ) and GSH-PX by 140% (95% CI: 0.75, 2.04; P < 10 −4 ), and decreased MDA content by 160% (95% CI: −1.99, −1.20; P < 10 −5 ). Moreover, the differences in effect size values suggested that the effects of probiotics were related with types of oxidative stress models. However, due to the heterogeneity, the findings of this review should be treated with caution.