Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; and.
Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma, Neurogastroenterology Group and GI Physiology Unit, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Adv Nutr. 2017 May 15;8(3):484-494. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014407. Print 2017 May.
Constipation is a common and burdensome gastrointestinal disorder that may result from altered gastrointestinal motility. The effect of probiotics on constipation has been increasingly investigated in both animal and human studies, showing promising results. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the mechanisms of action of probiotics on gut motility and constipation. Several factors are vital to normal gut motility, including immune and nervous system function, bile acid metabolism and mucus secretion, and the gastrointestinal microbiota and fermentation; an imbalance or dysfunction in any of these components may contribute to aberrant gut motility and, consequently, symptoms of constipation. For example, adults with functional constipation have significantly decreased numbers of bifidobacteria (with one study showing a mean difference of 1 log/g) and lactobacilli (mean difference, 1.4 log/g) in stool samples, as well as higher breath methane, compared with control subjects. Modifying the gut luminal environment with certain probiotic strains may affect motility and secretion in the gut and, hence, provide a benefit for patients with constipation. Therefore, this review explores the mechanisms through which probiotics may exert an effect on gut motility and constipation. Nevertheless, the majority of current evidence is derived from animal studies, and therefore, further human studies are needed to determine the mechanisms through specific probiotic strains that might be effective in constipation.
便秘是一种常见且令人不适的胃肠道疾病，可能是由于胃肠道动力改变引起的。益生菌对便秘的影响已在动物和人体研究中得到了越来越多的研究，结果令人鼓舞。然而，关于益生菌对肠道动力和便秘的作用机制仍存在不确定性。有几个因素对正常的肠道动力至关重要，包括免疫和神经系统功能、胆汁酸代谢和黏液分泌以及胃肠道微生物群和发酵；这些成分中的任何一个失衡或功能障碍都可能导致肠道动力异常，从而导致便秘症状。例如，功能性便秘的成年人粪便样本中的双歧杆菌（一项研究显示平均差异为 1 对数/g）和乳杆菌（平均差异为 1.4 对数/g）数量明显减少，而呼气甲烷水平较高，与对照组相比。用某些益生菌菌株改变肠道腔环境可能会影响肠道的运动和分泌，从而为便秘患者带来益处。因此，本综述探讨了益生菌可能对肠道动力和便秘产生影响的机制。然而，目前大多数证据来自动物研究，因此需要进一步的人体研究来确定特定益生菌菌株通过何种机制可能对便秘有效。
