{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T07:58:25Z","timestamp":1790841505547,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Food Science &amp; Nutrition"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of\n \n Pediococcus acidilactici<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:styled-content>\n (\n \n P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:styled-content>\n ) PA53 in adults with functional constipation. In this randomized, double\u2010blind, placebo\u2010controlled trial, 87 adults with functional constipation were assigned to receive either\n \n P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:styled-content>\n PA53 (3.0\u2009\u00d7\u200910\n 10<\/jats:sup>\n \u2009CFU\/day) or a dextrin placebo in a 1:1 ratio for 8\u2009weeks. The primary outcome was improvement in constipation symptoms, assessed by the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS). Secondary outcomes included spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs), quality of life, serum biomarkers of intestinal function, inflammatory markers, and gut microbiota composition via 16S rRNA sequencing. At week 8, the PA53 group showed a significantly higher BSFS score than placebo (2.76\u2009\u00b1\u20090.93 vs. 2.03\u2009\u00b1\u20090.85,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.004) and a significant within\u2010group improvement from baseline (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.001), indicating stool softening. The proportion of participants achieving 4\u20136 SBMs\/week increased significantly in the PA53 group (from 16.7% to 38.1%,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.028), but the between\u2010group difference was not significant (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.144). Within the PA53 group, motilin and interleukin\u201010 increased, while somatostatin and interleukin\u20106 decreased (all\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009<\u20090.05); however, no between\u2010group differences were significant for any biomarker. Gut microbiota analysis revealed marked enrichment of\n Pediococcus<\/jats:italic>\n and changes in microbial diversity in the PA53 group. PA53 was well tolerated with no adverse events. Overall,\n \n P. acidilactici<\/jats:italic>\n <\/jats:styled-content>\n PA53 safely improved stool form and was associated with beneficial changes in gut microbiota and inflammatory markers in adults with functional constipation. Effects on bowel movement frequency were not significant between groups and warrant further investigation.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n Clinical Trial Registration:<\/jats:bold>\n NCT06761443 (\n ClinicalTrials.gov<\/jats:ext-link>\n )\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/fsn3.72370","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T07:18:24Z","timestamp":1790839104000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Pediococcus acidilactici<\/i>\n PA53<\/scp>\n Supplementation Improves Stool Form and Modulates Gut Microbiota and Inflammatory Responses in Adults With Functional Constipation: A Randomized, Double\u2010Blind, Placebo\u2010Controlled Trial"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-9168-7719","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuhan","family":"Xia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Nutrition Department General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan Ningxia China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongmei","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory Medical Center, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan Ningxia China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongwei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Class of 2021, Clinical Medicine, Third Clinical College Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan Ningxia China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rui","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Class of 2023, Clinical Medicine, First Clinical College Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan Ningxia China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanshu","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Class of 2023, Clinical Medicine, First Clinical College Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan Ningxia China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiwen","family":"Qiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Class of 2023, Clinical Medicine, First Clinical College Ningxia Medical University Yinchuan Ningxia China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"reference":[{"issue":"17","key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/mnfr.70081","article-title":"Effect of an 8\u2010Week \n Bifidobacterium lactis\n HN019 Supplementation on Functional Constipation: A Multi\u2010Center, Triple\u2010Blind, Randomized, Placebo\u2010Controlled Trial","volume":"69","author":"Ala\u2010Jaakkola R.","year":"2025","journal-title":"Molecular Nutrition & Food Research"},{"issue":"8","key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"638","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-1253(21)00111-4","article-title":"Global Prevalence of Functional Constipation According to the Rome Criteria: A Systematic Review and Meta\u2010Analysis","volume":"6","author":"Barberio B.","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology"},{"issue":"5","key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1232","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2019.12.034","article-title":"Mechanisms, Evaluation, and Management of Chronic Constipation","volume":"158","author":"Bharucha A. 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