The impact of probiotic supplementation on bone health in postmenopausal women: literature review.

Intestinal dysbiosis affects numerous health conditions in human body. At the same time its impact on the bone remodelling process has been discovered quite recently. Studies are in agreement that the gut microbiota might directly or indirectly affect on bone metabolism through the functions of the immune system, hormone levels or calcium absorption. Having said that regulation of the intestinal microbiota will play a significant role in the bone metabolism it may represent a potential therapeutic measure in those at the risk of osteoporosis. The purpose of the following review was to assess the impact of probiotics, as major gut microbiota regulators, on the parameters of bone health. In particular as it refers to the bone mineral density, bone turnover markers as well as calcium and vitamin D in the blood serum. Special attention was placed on postmenopausal women, due to their increased risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures. The analysis of the available literature suggests potential anti osteoporotic effect of some selected probiotic bacteria strains. Therapy with the use of probiotics might be complementary in the prophylactics and treatment of osteoporosis due to its good tolerance and well documented effectiveness in majority of the studies. Despite the promising results, there is still a great need for further clinical studies which would allow to determine the optimal dosage, duration of the supplementation as well as the efficiency confirmation of particular probiotic strains.