Mare's Milk for Gut Microbiome Restoration and Immune Recovery After COVID-19 in Children and Pregnant Women: A Hypothesis-Generating Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND

Mare's milk has gained attention as a functional food due to its bioactive compounds and potential microbiome-modulating properties. This systematic review evaluated the evidence on its potential role in gut microbiome restoration and immune modulation following COVID-19, particularly in pediatric and maternal populations.

METHODS

PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase were systematically searched for studies investigating mare's milk or koumiss and their effects on gut microbiota, immune responses, inflammatory markers, or gastrointestinal outcomes.

RESULTS

Eight studies were included: five examined COVID-19-associated gut microbiome alterations, and three investigated the biological effects of mare's milk or fermented mare's milk. COVID-19 was consistently associated with reduced microbial diversity, depletion of beneficial bacteria, and enrichment of opportunistic pathogens, with some changes persisting after recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

Koumiss demonstrates biologically plausible microbiome-modulating and immunoregulatory properties that may support recovery from COVID-19-associated gut dysbiosis. However, current evidence remains indirect, and clinical studies are needed before recommendations can be made.