Eight-week synbiotic supplementation in children with MASLD: randomized controlled trial
An 8-week synbiotic intervention produced statistically significant reductions in BMI, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL in children with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
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What the study showed
The synbiotic group showed reductions in BMI (−0.70 kg/m²), triglycerides (−10.50 mg/dL), total cholesterol (−10.50 mg/dL), and LDL-cholesterol (−5.46 mg/dL) versus placebo. The abstract designates ALT, AST, and hepatic steatosis grade as primary outcomes but does not report their numerical results. The synbiotic formulation included nine probiotic strains combined with a prebiotic component.
How it was done
Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial enrolling 60 participants aged 10–18 years with MASLD, allocated 1:1 to synbiotics or placebo (fructooligosaccharide with sucrose capsules) over 8 weeks.
Risk of bias
Numerical results for the pre-specified primary outcomes (ALT, AST, steatosis grade) are absent from the abstract, precluding assessment of the primary hepatic claims. Sample size is small (n=60), duration is short, and the placebo contained an active prebiotic substrate.
What this study does NOT prove
This abstract does not prove that synbiotics reduce hepatic steatosis or normalize liver enzymes in pediatric MASLD, as those data are not disclosed.
In clinical practice
The abstract supports only modest metabolic effects; hepatic outcomes cannot be evaluated without the full text. Clinical adoption should await complete data review.
Limitations
Numerical results for the pre-specified primary outcomes (ALT, AST, steatosis grade) are absent from the abstract, precluding assessment of the primary hepatic claims. Sample size is small (n=60), duration is short, and the placebo contained an active prebiotic substrate.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-08-06 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.