Potential beneficial role of probiotics on the outcome of COVID-19 patients: An evolving perspective

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Probiotics can support the body’s systems in fighting viral infections. This review is aimed to focus current knowledge about the use of probiotics as adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients. METHODS: We performed an extensive research using the PubMed-LitCovid, Cochrane Library, Embase databases, and conducting manual searches on Google Scholar, Elsevier Connect, Web of Science about this issue. RESULTS: We have found several papers reporting data about the potential role of probiotics as well as contrasting experimental data about it. CONCLUSIONS: Most data show good results demonstrating that probiotics can play a significant role in fighting SARS-CoV-2 infection, also compared with their use in the past for various diseases. They seem effective in lowering inflammatory status, moreover in patients with chronic comorbidities such as cancer and diabetes, improving clinical outcomes.