SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Microbes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1650883
Research Status and Development Trends of Probiotics in Clinical Applications
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- 2Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Food and Drug Inspection Institute, Guangxi, China
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Background: In recent years, the potential role of probiotics in modulating gut microbiota, enhancing immune function and improving metabolic diseases has become a highly field in biomedical and clinical research. The rapid increase in global probiotic clinical trials necessitates a systematic evaluation of current research status, developmental trends, and collaborative networks in this field. Purpose: This study employs bibliometric analysis to comprehensively evaluate research progress and hotspots in clinical applications of probiotics. Method: A systematic search was performed in the Web of Science database to collect articles and reviews regarding the clinical application of probiotics between 2000 and 2025. The retrieved records were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel, Cite Space and VOS viewers. Result: During the period from 2000 to 2025, we retrieved a total of 3,674 papers related to the clinical application of probiotics, and the number of papers is showing a continuous growth trend. The research was mainly focused on North America, Western Europe, and East Asia, with the United States leading the way with 714 papers, high impact (H-index 107, total citations 44,833), and top institutions (Harvard Univ). Nutrition and microbiology are the main academic fields. The current research hotspots and development directions focus on the application of probiotics in diseases such as "inflammation", "obesity", "insulin resistance", "depression", "hyperlipidemia", and "cancer". Conclusion: This study represents the first application of bibliometric methods to systematically visualize and analyze research progress in the field of probiotic clinical applications, identifying key research trends and frontiers. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers at various career stages, particularly those new to the field, enabling them to identify critical developments and serving as a foundational reference for future clinical applications of probiotics.
Keywords: Probiotics1, clinical application2, bibliometrics3, Artificial Intelligence4, visual analysis5, Cite Space6, VOSviewer137
Received: 23 Jun 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Yao, Zhang and Gan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zan Zhang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Food and Drug Inspection Institute, Guangxi, China
Yongqi Gan, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Food and Drug Inspection Institute, Guangxi, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.