IS Is probiotic supplementation effective in treating food allergy in children? An integrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Food allergies are defined as an adverse immunological reaction that is repeated through exposure to a particular food. These reactions range from anaphylaxis (more severe) to gastrointestinal manifestations. The recommended treatment of food allergies is the absolute exclusion of food from the child's diet.  Objective: This is an integrative literature review with the purpose to evaluate the effectiveness of probiotics in the treatment of food allergies in children, relieving symptoms or inducing tolerance, identifying the most effective strain, dosage and adverse effects. Methodology: We performed a systematic search using the keywords “probiotics”, “treatment”, “food allergy”, “children”, and “infant” in the following scientific databases: Science Direct, the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Virtual Health Library (BVS), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS), PubMed, and MEDLINE. After applying the exclusion criteria, we selected four randomized clinical trials, five reviews and one meta-analysis. In all of them, the children were diagnosed with cow’s milk allergy (CMA). Results: The studies have indicated that the use of extensively hydrolysed milk formula with the addition of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG with dosage ranging from 1x106 to 5x108 cfu/g is effective in inducing tolerance and reducing severity of eczema in infants with no history of anaphylactic symptoms. Conclusions: Before prescribing probiotics in everyday clinical practice, it should be performed more clinical trials with greater groups of children. The safety of the supplementation in children also needs to be better assessed.

Keywords: Probiotics; Efficacy; Food Hypersensitivity; Milk Hypersensitivity; Child.