{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T00:10:38Z","timestamp":1791418238344,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784246400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Functional constipation is a common disorder of gut\u2013brain interaction that substantially affects bowel function, psychological well-being, and quality of life. Probiotic supplementation represents a microbiota-targeted nutritional strategy for functional constipation, but associated host-response signals remain incompletely understood.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n This single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 104 adults who met the Rome IV criteria for functional constipation. Participants received either\n Lactiplantibacillus plantarum<\/jats:italic>\n Probio87 or placebo for 8\u202fweeks, followed by a 4-week post-intervention follow-up. The primary endpoint was weekly complete spontaneous bowel movements. Secondary outcomes included Rome IV symptom scores, PAC-QOL, HAMD-24, safety parameters, and exploratory whole-blood gene-expression profiles related to inflammation, immune regulation, neuroendocrine signaling, and gut motility. The trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300075360).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n Probio87 supplementation significantly increased weekly complete spontaneous bowel movements compared with placebo at Week 8 and Week 12. Improvements were also observed in Rome IV symptom scores, constipation-related quality of life, and HAMD-24 domains related to anxiety, sleep, and retardation. Exploratory whole-blood gene-expression analysis showed differential host-response signals after intervention, characterized by increased BDNF expression and reduced expression of IL-1\u03b2, CD117, CXCR5, IDO1, DBH, and MLNR in the probiotic group relative to placebo. No intervention-related adverse events or clinically relevant abnormalities in hematological, hepatic, or renal safety parameters were observed.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n \n L. plantarum<\/jats:italic>\n Probio87 supplementation was associated with sustained improvement in bowel function, constipation-related quality of life, and psychological well-being in adults with functional constipation. Exploratory peripheral gene-expression findings suggest that inflammatory, immune, neuroendocrine, and motility-related host-response pathways may be involved, although causal mechanisms require further validation.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Clinical trial registration<\/jats:title>\n \n https:\/\/www.chictr.org.cn\/showproj.html?proj=205514<\/jats:ext-link>\n , identifier (ChiCTR2300075360).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2026.1876944","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T15:49:56Z","timestamp":1784303396000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Probio87 supplementation improves functional constipation and is associated with peripheral gene-expression responses related to inflammation and the gut\u2013brain axis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Fan","family":"Zheng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Deyang People\u2019s Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Deyang, China"]},{"name":"School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Kota Bharu, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yong","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Deyang People\u2019s Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Deyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Zhan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chengdu Integrated TCM & Western Medicine Hospital","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhe Wen","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging, Center for Artificial Intelligence Biology, Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology","place":["Wuhan, Hubei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guanting","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Deyang People\u2019s Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Deyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daoyuan","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Deyang People\u2019s Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Deyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Si-Ming","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Deyang People\u2019s Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Deyang, China"]},{"name":"School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Chengdu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Uma","family":"Mageswary","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Penang, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yeong-Yeh","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Kota Bharu, Malaysia"]},{"name":"GI Function and Motility Unit, Hospital Pakar Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Kota Bharu, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min-Tze","family":"Liong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Penang, 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