The effects of synbiotic supplementation on hormonal status, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in subjects with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Abstract Background To our knowledge, no reports are available indicating the effects of synbiotic supplementation on hormonal status, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in subjects with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This research was done to assess the effects of synbiotic supplementation on hormonal status, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in subjects with PCOS. Methods This randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted on 60 subjects diagnosed with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria. Subjects were randomly assigned into two groups to take either synbiotic (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. Endocrine, inflammation and oxidative stress biomarkers were quantified at baseline and after the 12-week intervention. Results After the 12-week intervention, compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation significantly increased serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) (changes from baseline in synbiotic group: + 19.8 ± 47.3 vs. in placebo group: + 0.5 ± 5.4 nmol/L, p = 0.01), plasma nitric oxide (NO) (changes from baseline in synbiotic group: + 5.5 ± 4.8 vs. in placebo group: + 0.3 ± 9.1 μmol/L, p = 0.006), and decreased modified Ferriman Gallwey (mF-G) scores (changes from baseline in synbiotic group: − 1.3 ± 2.5 vs. in placebo group: − 0.1 ± 0.5, p = 0.01) and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (changes from baseline in synbiotic group: − 950.0 ± 2246.6 vs. in placebo group: + 335.3 ± 2466.9 ng/mL, p = 0.02). We did not observe any significant effect of synbiotic supplementation on other hormonal status and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Conclusions Overall, synbiotic supplementation for 12 weeks in PCOS women had beneficial effects on SHBG, mFG scores, hs-CRP and NO levels, but did not affect other hormonal status and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Trial registration This study was retrospectively registered in the Iranian website (www.irct.ir) for registration of clinical trials (IRCT201509115623N53), on 2015–09-27.