Pediococcus

Pediococcus acidilactici · Pediococcus pentosaceus

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Infant colic¹ Childhood respiratory infections² Depressive symptoms³ Menopausal symptoms⁴ Body fat reduction⁵ Coronavirus disease 2019⁶	Milk allergy⁷ Soy allergy⁷

Pediococcus (Pediococcus acidilactici, Pediococcus pentosaceus) names lactic acid bacteria long used in fermented foods and now taken as probiotic strains, acting through gut microbiota effects and antimicrobial metabolites such as pediocins. Supplementation is used for infant colic and for shortening fever and pain in childhood upper respiratory infections. It is also used for depressive symptoms, menopausal symptoms, and body fat in overweight adults.

Effects are strain-specific. A Lactiplantibacillus plantarum plus Pediococcus acidilactici formula shortened symptoms in adult coronavirus disease 2019 outpatients, but did not change Helicobacter pylori eradication outcomes. Heat-killed Pediococcus acidilactici K15 did not clearly prevent respiratory infections in preschool children⁸. In a 2024 prospective non-interventional study of adults with irritable bowel syndrome, a three-strain probiotic plus vitamin D was followed by lower symptom scores alongside lower anxiety and depression scores, with no placebo group⁹. Products listing Pediococcus number 26 in the National Institutes of Health Dietary Supplement Label Database, the sampled ones are capsules, and none is a single-ingredient product; see Form comparison.

The most common label caution is allergen carryover: United States product labels warn of trace milk and soy on 24 of 30 labels⁷. A Nutrition Reviews safety review documented Pediococcus isolated from infection sites, with harm reported in immunocompromised patients¹⁰.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

43 sources, 35 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources