Probiotics and chronic inflammatory skin diseases
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20883/jofa.118Keywords:
probiotics, atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, rosacea, psoriasisAbstract
It is well established that probiotics exert beneficial effects on human health. Their use in prophylaxis and therapy, particularly in inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, is undisputed. Moreover, studies from recent years indicate that the administration of probiotics in dentistry is advisable, particularly in dental caries and in chronic periodontitis in adults. In this study, the available data on the potential application of oral and topical probiotics, including their mechanisms of action, in dermatological therapy were analyzed. The present review focuses on the effects of oral and topical probiotics in chronic skin diseases, emphasizing their role in the management of atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, rosacea, and psoriasis.
Downloads
References
Cogen AL, Nizet V, Gallo RL. Skin microbiota: a source of disease or defence? Br J Dermatol. 2008;158(3):442-455. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08437.x.
Dréno B, Pécastaings S, Corvec S, Veraldi S, Khammari A, Roques C. Cutibacterium acnes (Propionibacterium acnes) and acne vulgaris: a brief look at the latest updates. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2018;32 Suppl 2:5-14. doi: 10.1111/jdv.15043.
Elsner P. Antimicrobials and the skin physiological and pathological flora. Curr Probl Dermatol. 2006;33:35-41. doi: 10.1159/000093929.
Nakatsuji T, Chen TH, Narala S, Chun KA, Two AM, Yun T, et al. Antimicrobials from human skin commensal bacteria protect against Staphylococcus aureus and are deficient in atopic dermatitis. Sci Transl Med. 2017;9(378):aah4680. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aah4680.
De Almeida CV, Antiga E, Lulli M. Oral and topical probiotics and postbiotics in skincare and dermatological therapy: a concise review. Microorganisms. 2023;11(6):1420. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11061420.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; World Health Organization. Guidelines for the evaluation of probiotics in food: report of a joint FAO/WHO Working Group on drafting guidelines for the evaluation of probiotics in food. London (ON): FAO/WHO; 2002.
Didari T, Solki S, Mozaffari S, Nikfar S, Abdollahi M. A systematic review of the safety of probiotics. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014;13(2):227-239. doi: 10.1517/14740338.2014.872627.
Ritchie ML, Romanuk TN. A meta-analysis of probiotic efficacy for gastrointestinal diseases. PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e34938. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034938.
Sanders ME, Merenstein DJ, Reid G, Gibson GR, Rastall RA. Probiotics and prebiotics in intestinal health and disease: from biology to the clinic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;16(10):605-616. doi: 10.1038/s41575-019-0173-3.
Hill C, Guarner F, Reid G, Gibson GR, Merenstein DJ, Pot B, et al. Expert consensus document: the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2014;11(8):506-514. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2014.66.
Kim SK, Guevarra RB, Kim YT, Kwon J, Kim H, Cho JH, et al. Role of probiotics in human gut microbiome-associated diseases. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2019;29(9):1335-1340. doi: 10.4014/jmb.1906.06064.
Lizardo MP, Tavaria FK. Probiotic growth in skin-like conditions. AIMS Microbiol. 2022;8(4):388-402. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2022027.
Szántó M, Dózsa A, Antal D, Szabó K, Kemény L, Bai P. Targeting the gut-skin axis-probiotics as new tools for skin disorder management? Exp Dermatol. 2019;28(11):1210-1218. doi: 10.1111/exd.14016.
Gao T, Wang X, Li Y, Ren F. The role of probiotics in skin health and related gut-skin axis: a review. Nutrients. 2023;15(14):3123. doi: 10.3390/nu15143123.
Lu K, Dong S, Wu X, Jin R, Chen H. Probiotics in cancer. Front Oncol. 2021;11:638148. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.638148.
Śliżewska K, Markowiak-Kopeć P, Śliżewska W. The role of probiotics in cancer prevention. Cancers (Basel). 2021;13(1):20. doi: 10.3390/cancers13010020.
Le Noci V, Guglielmetti S, Arioli S, Camisaschi C, Bianchi F, Sommariva M, et al. Modulation of pulmonary microbiota by antibiotic or probiotic aerosol therapy: a strategy to promote immunosurveillance against lung metastases. Cell Rep. 2018;24(13):3528-3538. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.08.090.
Ranji P, Agah S, Heydari Z, Rahmati-Yamchi M, Alizadeh AM. Effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum probiotics on the serum biochemical parameters, and the vitamin D and leptin receptor genes in mice with colon cancer. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2019;22(6):631-636. doi: 10.22038/ijbms.2019.30260.7298.
Szkaradkiewicz AK. Progress in studies on application of probiotics in dentistry. Dent Forum. 2015;43(1):55-60.
Szkaradkiewicz AK, Stopa J, Karpiński TM. Effect of oral administration involving a probiotic strain of Lactobacillus reuteri on pro-inflammatory cytokine response in patients with chronic periodontitis. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 2014;62(6):495-500. doi: 10.1007/s00005-014-0277-y.
Fyhrquist N, Muirhead G, Prast-Nielsen S, Jeanmougin M, Olah P, Skoog T, et al. Microbe-host interplay in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Nat Commun. 2019;10(1):4703. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12253-y.
D'Elios S, Trambusti I, Verduci E, Ferrante G, Rosati S, Marseglia GL, et al. Probiotics in the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2020;31 Suppl 26:43-45. doi: 10.1111/pai.13364.
Shirkhan F, Safaei F, Mirdamadi S, Zandi M. The role of probiotics in skin care: advances, challenges, and future needs. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins. 2024;16(6):2132-2149. doi: 10.1007/s12602-023-10174-3.
Vasam M, Korutla S, Bohara RA. Acne vulgaris: a review of the pathophysiology, treatment, and recent nanotechnology based advances. Biochem Biophys Rep. 2023;36:101578. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2023.101578.
Deplewski D, Rosenfield RL. Role of hormones in pilosebaceous unit development. Endocr Rev. 2000;21(4):363-392. doi: 10.1210/edrv.21.4.0404.
Nickles MA, Sharma D, Tsoukas MM, Ashack KA. Acne and insulin resistance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2022;87(3):687-688. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2021.11.057.
Fabbrocini G, Bertona M, Picazo Ó, Pareja-Galeano H, Monfrecola G, Emanuele E. Supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus SP1 normalises skin expression of genes implicated in insulin signalling and improves adult acne. Benef Microbes. 2016;7(5):625-630. doi: 10.3920/BM2015.0089.
Sutema IAMP, Latarissa IR, Widowati IGAR, Sartika CR, Ciptasari NWE, Lestari K. Efficacy of probiotic supplements and topical applications in the treatment of acne: a scoping review of current results. J Exp Pharmacol. 2025;17:1-14. doi: 10.2147/JEP.S498769.
Gether L, Overgaard LK, Egeberg A, Thyssen JP. Incidence and prevalence of rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Dermatol. 2018;179(2):282-289. doi: 10.1111/bjd.16481.
Holmes AD. Potential role of microorganisms in the pathogenesis of rosacea. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013;69(6):1025-1032. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2013.08.006.
Szkaradkiewicz A, Chudzicka-Strugała I, Karpiński TM, Goślińska-Pawłowska O, Tułecka T, Chudzicki W, et al. Bacillus oleronius and Demodex mite infestation in patients with chronic blepharitis. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2012;18(10):1020-1025. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2011.03704.x.
Manfredini M, Barbieri M, Milandri M, Longo C. Probiotics and diet in rosacea: current evidence and future perspectives. Biomolecules. 2025;15(3):411. doi: 10.3390/biom15030411.
Parodi A, Paolino S, Greco A, Drago F, Mansi C, Rebora A, et al. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in rosacea: clinical effectiveness of its eradication. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008;6(7):759-764. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2008.02.054.
Armstrong AW, Read C. Pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatment of psoriasis: a review. JAMA. 2020;323(19):1945-1960. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.4006.
Amalia N, Wicaksono D, Wiyarta E, Rampengan DDCH, Darmawan H, Aditya M, et al. The gut-skin axis in psoriasis: evidence-based insights from a meta-analysis on probiotics-synbiotics-mediated microbiota interventions. Med Microecol. 2025;24:100126. doi: 10.1016/j.medmic.2025.100126.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The copyright to the submitted manuscript is held by the Author, who grants the Journal of Face Aesthetics (JoFA) a nonexclusive licence to use, reproduce, and distribute the work, including for commercial purposes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
