Archives of Iranian medicineApr 18, 2018

Probiotics and their effects on hormones, inflammation, and cell stress in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗

Updated Apr 4, 2026

Abstract

Probiotic supplementation significantly increased serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) by 25.9 nmol/L and decreased serum total testosterone by -0.2 ng/mL in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) after 12 weeks.

Probiotic supplementation is associated with a significant increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) by +8.8 mmol/L compared to placebo.
A significant reduction in modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mF-G) scores by -1.7 was observed with probiotics, indicating decreased symptoms of hyperandrogenism.
Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels decreased significantly by -1150.0 ng/mL with probiotic treatment, suggesting reduced inflammation.
Plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations decreased by -0.2 µmol/L, indicating a potential reduction in oxidative stress.
No detrimental effects on other metabolic profiles were observed with probiotic supplementation.

Simplified

BACKGROUND: To the best of our knowledge, data on effects of probiotic administration on hormonal profiles, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are scarce. This investigation was conducted to assess the effects of probiotic supplementation on hormonal profiles, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in women with PCOS.

METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted on 60 women with PCOS, aged 18-40 years old. Subjects were randomly assigned into 2 groups to receive either probiotics or placebo (n = 30 each group) for 12 weeks. Metabolic profiles were quantified at baseline and after a 12-week intervention.

RESULTS: After the 12-week intervention, compared with placebo, probiotic supplementation significantly increased serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) (+25.9 ± 32.5 vs. +0.5 ± 15.6 nmol/L, P < 0.001) and plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (+8.8 ± 120.5 vs. -98.3 ± 246.4 mmol/L, P = 0.04), and significantly decreased serum total testosterone (-0.2 ± 0.7 vs. +0.2 ± 0.6 ng/mL, P = 0.03), modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mF-G) scores (-1.7 ± 1.5 vs. -0.2 ± 1.0, P < 0.001), serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (-1150.0 ± 1295.2 vs. +202.5 ± 1426.3 ng/mL, P < 0.001) and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations (-0.2 ± 0.6 vs. +0.9 ± 1.3 µmol/L, P < 0.001). We did not observe any detrimental effect of probiotic supplementation on other metabolic profiles.

CONCLUSION: Overall, probiotic supplementation of PCOS women for 12 weeks had beneficial effects on total testosterone, SHBG, mFG scores, hs-CRP, TAC and MDA levels but did not affect other metabolic profiles.

Probiotics and their effects on hormones, inflammation, and cell stress in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

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