{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T04:59:54Z","timestamp":1785214794752,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":90,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,26]],"date-time":"2026-07-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785024000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100016928","name":"National Institute of Pediatrics","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100016928","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Gut dysbiosis in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been associated with alterations in microbial ecology and metabolic function that may contribute to gastrointestinal dysfunction and the severity of clinical manifestations. Synbiotic and probiotic supplementation has emerged as a promising microbiome-targeted strategy for ASD; however, its effects on gut microbiome composition, functional potential, and clinical outcomes remain incompletely understood. We conducted a longitudinal study of Mexican children diagnosed with ASD to analyze changes in the composition, diversity, and functional potential of the gut microbiome during six months of multi-strain synbiotic supplementation. Methods: Stool samples were collected from 25 children with ASD at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of multi-strain synbiotic supplementation. Gut microbiome composition and diversity were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, whereas whole metagenome sequencing (WMS) was performed in a subset of samples to evaluate the functional potential of the fecal microbiome. Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed using the Rome IV criteria, and ASD severity was evaluated with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Results: Twenty-five children with ASD completed the 6 months of synbiotic supplementation. Overall, ASD severity decreased, reflected by a reduction in total CARS score, and improvements in several CARS domains. Gastrointestinal symptoms also decreased significantly. Longitudinal microbiome profiling revealed significant taxonomic and diversity changes over the supplementation period, while WMS identified changes in microbial metabolic potential, including enrichment of tryptophan biosynthesis pathways and reduced L-rhamnose degradation. Conclusions: This exploratory research provides proof-of-concept evidence supporting multi-strain synbiotic supplementation in children with ASD. Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings and clarify their relevance to microbiota\u2013gut\u2013brain axis interactions. The observed concordance between clinical improvements and microbiome remodeling supports further investigation of microbiome-targeted interventions according to ASD severity and duration of supplementation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18152441","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T05:49:27Z","timestamp":1785131367000},"page":"2441","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinical Improvement and Taxonomic\u2013Functional Gut Microbiome Remodeling After Six Months of Multi-Strain Synbiotic Supplementation in Mexican Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2527-8055","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amapola","family":"De Sales-Millan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctorado en Ciencias Biol\u00f3gicas y de la Salud, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma Metropolitana, Ciudad de Mexico 04960, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paulina","family":"Reyes-Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Salud Mental, Instituto Nacional de Pediatr\u00eda, Ciudad de Mexico 04530, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5617-2253","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rina Mar\u00eda","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez-Cervantes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma Metropolitana-Lerma, Lerma 52006, Estado de Mexico, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8261-1723","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariana","family":"Luna-\u00c1lvarez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grupo Neurol\u00f3gico, Neuroquir\u00fargico y de Columna, Hospital \u00c1ngeles Acoxpa, Ciudad de Mexico 14308, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6874-8662","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Guill\u00e9n-L\u00f3pez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Errores Innatos del Metabolismo y Tamiz, Instituto Nacional de Pediatr\u00eda, Ciudad de Mexico 04530, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0898-2358","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 F.","family":"Cobo-D\u00edaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Higiene y Tecnolog\u00eda de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Le\u00f3n, 24071 Leon, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3123-9869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"Ramos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Oncolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Pediatr\u00eda, Ciudad de Mexico 04530, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4017-3753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 F\u00e9lix","family":"Aguirre-Garrido","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma Metropolitana-Lerma, Lerma 52006, Estado de Mexico, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3617-8148","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 Antonio","family":"Vel\u00e1zquez-Arag\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Oncolog\u00eda Experimental, Instituto Nacional de Pediatr\u00eda, Ciudad de Mexico 04530, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.9740\/mhc.n163617","article-title":"Book Review: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition","volume":"3","author":"Bowles","year":"2013","journal-title":"Ment. 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