Probiotics and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) for osteoarthritic pain: individual effects in a multiple baseline design study
Case seriesHumansWith probiotics (Bifidobacterium animalis BB12, Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG, Saccharomyces boulardii)
This study tested palmitoylethanolamide together with probiotics (Bifidobacterium animalis BB12, Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG, Saccharomyces boulardii). Its results cannot be assigned to palmitoylethanolamide alone. More combination studies.
- Design
- Case series
- Subjects
- 4 adults with osteoarthritis recruited from a naturopathic practice in Australia
- Dose used in the study
- PEA 300 mg capsules (Metagenics Bio Absorb PEA), 600 mg a day, plus a daily probiotic capsule; matched placebo capsules in the baseline phase
- Duration
- 11 weeks: 2 or 4 weeks of placebo, then 7 to 9 weeks of active treatment, with the switch point concealed
- What was measured
- Daily pain on a visual analogue scale, a patient-specified functional scale, wellbeing, DASS-21, and CRP and ESR.
What the authors reported
A clear pain reduction on the time-series graph for one of four participants. Function, wellbeing and anxiety scores improved for all four. Participants mostly could not tell which phase of the study they were in.
Limits of this study
Four people, so no statistical test of effect. PEA was given with probiotics, so the two cannot be separated. Participants kept using their usual painkillers. Osteoarthritis symptoms fluctuate over weeks, and baselines were only 2 to 4 weeks. Funded by Metagenics, which supplied the products, the randomisation schedule and the pathology and publication fees. Registered ACTRN12621000039886.
Source
doi:10.1186/s12906-025-05187-0
Entry checked against the full text (open access PDF), supplied by Devlin on 2026-09-21. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.