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Review
. 2024 Sep 7;25(17):9688.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25179688.

Nutraceuticals in Pregnancy: A Special Focus on Probiotics

Angelica Perna  1 , Noemi Venditti  1   2 , Francesco Merolla  1 , Sabato Fusco  1 , Germano Guerra  1 , Stefano Zoroddu  3 , Antonio De Luca  4 , Luigi Bagella  3   5
Affiliations
Review

Nutraceuticals in Pregnancy: A Special Focus on Probiotics

Angelica Perna et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The placenta is crucial to fetal development and performs vital functions such as nutrient exchange, waste removal and hormone regulation. Abnormal placental development can lead to conditions such as fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia and stillbirth, affecting both immediate and long-term fetal health. Placental development is a highly complex process involving interactions between maternal and fetal components, imprinted genes, signaling pathways, mitochondria, fetal sexomes and environmental factors such as diet, supplementation and exercise. Probiotics have been shown to make a significant contribution to prenatal health, placental health and fetal development, with associations with reduced risk of preterm birth and pre-eclampsia, as well as improvements in maternal health through effects on gut microbiota, lipid metabolism, vaginal infections, gestational diabetes, allergic diseases and inflammation. This review summarizes key studies on the influence of dietary supplementation on placental development, with a focus on the role of probiotics in prenatal health and fetal development.

Keywords: nutraceuticals; placenta; placenta development; pre-eclampsia; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

All the authors confirm that they have received guidance on competing interests and none have any competing interests in the manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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