Symprove review (2025): does it work?

Last updated: 9 October 2025

Here we will give an honest, hands-on, tested review of Symprove probiotic. We’ll discuss whether it works, is it worth it and offer a Symprove discount code if you would like to try it.

We’ll also look at the ingredients, benefits, science and side effects of this popular probiotic. I’ll also discuss how it helped me over my four-month trial, whether I’d take it again in future and how I’d recommend you take it.

And we’ll also see what other people have to say about their experience taking Symprove.

This review has been updated after I have taken it for four months.

This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, Hello Gut Health may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Does Symprove work?

The short answer from my experience is a clear yes, Symprove does work. Is it a miracle cure? no. Will it solve all your problems? no.

During my four-month trial I found that Symprove improved my mood, immunity, gut calmness, eczema, energy and brain fog. Did it make all these issues disappear completely? no. But Symprove provided significant, noticeable improvements in those areas of health.

All these improvements may sound like a big claim, but there is a lot of science behind this probiotic and there are many thousands of people who feel that Symprove has helped them also.

Let’s dig into the details!

Symprove discount code

Use discount code HELLOGUT50 for 50% off the first three months at symprove.com

What is Symprove probiotic?

Symprove is a water-based probiotic that describes itself as science-led and has been supported by independent studies from King’s College London and University College London.

It is taken as a 70ml shot 10 minutes before breakfast.

It contains four strains of probiotics:

• Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus NCIMB 30174

• Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 30176

• Lactobacillus acidophilus NCIMB 30175

• Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NCIMB 30173

Each shot gives you 10 billion colony forming units of probiotics.

Safety: probiotics are generally safe for healthy adults. If you’re immunocompromised, have central venous lines, severe cardiac valve disease or short-gut syndrome, speak to your clinician first.

Symprove is also:

• Gluten-free (yes, even though it is made with barley it can be considered gluten-free because they remove all gluten from the barley extract in the production process)

• Dairy-free

• Vegan 

• Made in the UK

Each month a box of four bottles is delivered to you.

Benefits of Symprove probiotic

Various scientific studies have been conducted on Symprove and the results are impressive.

Survivability

Some probiotic supplements have little evidence to show they can survive your stomach acid.

Symprove however is specifically designed to survive your acidic stomach and reach your gut alive. Key to this is that Symprove is water based which means it doesn’t trigger digestion which might kill the healthy microbes. It also includes strains which are adept at surviving harsh conditions.

On their website they state:

“One study by University College London saw Symprove outperform seven other leading products in its ability to arrive alive, survive and colonise the gut. In fact, it was the only product that passed all three tests!” 

Inhibiting pathogens

One laboratory study at University College London found that Symprove inhibited the growth of three harmful bacteria - E. coli, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Shigella sonnei - likely due to the acids it produces during fermentation.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

One study of patients with moderate to severe IBS showed that a three-month treatment with Symprove resulted in a significantly greater reduction in the severity of IBS symptoms compared to those receiving a placebo.

Producing short-chain fatty acids

A 2020 lab study using stool samples from people with ulcerative colitis found that Symprove increased short-chain fatty acids and appeared to support gut barrier function. Short-chain fatty acids help nourish the gut lining, reduce inflammation and support healthy digestion and immune function.

Reducing inflammation

The same study also showed that Symprove reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and increased anti-inflammatory markers in the gut.

Neurodegeneration

A 2023 study using a rat model of early-stage Parkinson’s disease found that Symprove positively affected both gut and brain health. The treatment helped maintain gut integrity, reduced inflammation markers and improved the balance of gut bacteria. It also prevented about 17% of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells which suggests a possible protective effect.

It’s important to note that while these results are promising, these findings come from animal research and haven’t been confirmed in humans.

Symprove discount code

Use discount code HELLOGUT50 for 50% off the first three months at symprove.com

How Symprove has helped me

After taking Symprove for four months, it’s hard to 100% conclusively say the exact effects it has had on me but I genuinely believe there has been some positive ones.

Herein lies the issue with Symprove (and other probiotics also). Due to regulatory laws, it is technically classified as a ‘food supplement’ and Symprove are not able to make specific claims about the health benefits. (However, the studies listed above should be a good indication about what the intended health benefits are.)

But, without a doubt, it has been one of the most beneficial probiotics I have ever taken.

Below are some of the positive effects I have felt since taking Symprove.

Gut calmness

In the past, my gut has been prone to unexplainable low-level discomfort. Since taking Symprove, my gut generally feels calmer and has been happier and more at ease over these last four months. I’m experiencing less episodes where my gut is telling me that it is uncomfortable. And when I do get those signals, they are less severe and more fleeting.

Resilience

I’m finding my gut is better at coping with periods of sub-optimal eating. For example, I recently went on a ski trip to Austria where the food provided was generally not good for the gut. It was rich in meats, cured meats, cheese and fats - and generally low in fibre. In the past if I had eaten like this for a week my gut would be in turmoil and it would take at least two weeks to return to normal with a strong concerted effort to increase my vegetable and fibre intake. However, a day or two after returning from the trip my gut felt like it was back to equilibrium. I can’t stress how different this is to how it was in the past!

Mood and wellbeing

I think because my gut is generally happier, it is not sending those persistent, uncomfortable signals up to the brain which can begin to make you feel irritable and eventually cause bad moods. I feel like my gut is less able to affect my mood in a negative way now. This is not to say that my mood doesn’t change, but the swings are less dramatic.

Energy and brain fog

I have also noticed that I have more energy and less brain fog. Again, I think this is because my gut is happier so it is not sending negative signals to my brain which cumulatively become draining and affect concentration. I’m finding now that when you don’t have to spend so much energy just trying to concentrate on work or chores, you have more energy to spend elsewhere on things you like doing after work.

Immunity

Obviously I can’t make an evidence-based claim that my immune system is stronger now, but all I can say is that I have had fewer colds during the winter months than usual. And given the strong connection between gut health and immunity, I don’t think this is an unreasonable conclusion to draw.

Eczema

I have noticed a reduction in the amount of eczema I have been getting in the last few months. It hasn’t gone completely, but it is less. Again, given the connection between gut health and skin health I believe its reasonable to attribute this improvement (at least to some significant degree) to Symprove.

Summary

It has undoubtedly benefited me in numerous ways. Is it a miracle cure? Will you feel like a completely new person? No, absolutely not. But, when combined, the various changes have added up to a significant improvement in wellbeing for me.

I can’t, however, claim that you will experience the same benefits as I did. However, as we will see later in this article, many thousands of people on Trustpilot report similar benefits.

Symprove side effects

I didn’t experience any negative side effects after starting Symprove. Some people report an initial upset to their digestive system or change in toilet patterns - but I didn’t notice anything significant related to this. Other rare reported side effects include cramps and nausea.

The only thing close to a ‘side effect’ I could mention was that I began to crave the shot each morning. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was a bit annoying sometimes when I was trying to focus on morning exercises and couldn’t stop thinking about the shot I would take before breakfast. I also don’t generally like being dependent on anything so this feeling was a bit uncomfortable. But when I did have the shot it was very satisfying.

I wish I had something more to offer here - but I don’t.

What happened when I stopped taking Symprove

The most important thing to note is that everything didn’t fall apart!

Continued craving

The first thing I noticed was that my gut would crave the shot of Symprove each morning and it was genuinely disappointing to not have it. There was something about the ritual of taking it each morning which my body and mind loved (even if the anticipation of it could be a bit annoying like I said above). Perhaps the enjoyment was because my gut was genuinely happy to get a regular shot of beneficial bacteria - perhaps it was something else.

Even months later, I still miss taking it.

My gut health stayed good

Importantly, my gut health remained in a good condition after I stopped taking Symprove. I couldn’t in good conscience recommend Symprove if all the good work of it was totally reversed when you stopped taking it.

I think after four months of taking Symprove, my gut condition has been through a healthy amount of rehab and it is in much better shape than when I started. It has built up some resilience which has meant it has remained healthy as I move into my post-Symprove world.

Why I stopped taking Symprove

The decision to stop was not taken lightly. But there were a few reasons I did so.

Improvements plateaued

Naturally there came a point where the improvements in my gut began to plateau. This is not a bad thing - improvements can’t go on forever. There comes a point where the gut gets to be in a good shape and Symprove has done its job.

Ongoing cost

There’s no denying that I was not keen to pay the ongoing cost of Symprove forever. Some people would say that £40 per month for the health benefits I received would be worth it. But personally I couldn’t justify that cost forever.

Concerns about microbial diversity in my gut

As previously mentioned, Symprove has four very well chosen and scientifically proven strains of bacteria in it. However, the microbiome has hundreds, if not thousands, of different strains of bacteria. The question I asked myself was: do I need to continually bombard my gut with these four strains of bacteria forever? My answer was that after four months they’d probably done a lot of good, but now I could move on and focus on a healthy diet to continue the good work.

Long-term reliance

Personally I don’t like the idea of being reliant on any supplement forever. So I was always biased against taking Symprove for the very long term.

Symprove discount code

Use discount code HELLOGUT50 for 50% off the first three months at symprove.com

Would I take Symprove again?

Yes, absolutely in certain circumstances.

After a drop in gut health

If I experience a significant drop in my gut health down the line, I would undoubtedly take Symprove again to get it back on track. I could imagine something like a bad case of food poisoning would definitely warrant this.

Because Symprove worked well once to bring some balance to my gut, this would be the obvious first step to take for me.

If however I had to do this very frequently, I would have to reconsider my approach. Because like I said above, I don’t want to be reliant on any supplement long term.

Alongside antibiotics

If I ever had to take a long course of antibiotics which targeted the gut, I would combine this with Symprove. Antibiotics can dramatically change your gut, so I would want to use Symprove to help me restore a healthy balance to my microbiome and get me on the right track again.

During a period of poor mental health

Fingers crossed it won’t happen, but if I ever did experience a sustained period of poor mental health I would take Symprove. This is because gut health and mental health are so intricately linked. I’d want to know I was doing everything from a health perspective to help this.

During a serious outbreak of eczema

As I mentioned above, I noticed an improvement to my eczema when I took Symprove. If I were to have a major and sustained outbreak of eczema in the future, Symprove would be one of my first treatment steps.

How I recommend taking Symprove

Based on my experience, I would recommend taking Symprove for a minimum of three months.

At that point, I’d assess how you are feeling with your gut health.

If you are noticing a benefit, I would continue on for a few more months until you start to notice a plateau of benefits.

If you are not noticing any benefit, then it is really a personal question of whether you want to stop at that point, or give it some more time to see improvement. But you really should notice an improvement after three months - bearing in mind that Symprove is not a miracle cure!

After you stop

After finishing Symprove, I’d focus on eating well - especially including prebiotic vegetables such as garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes which naturally feed beneficial gut bacteria.

You could also consider taking a prebiotic supplement to assist with this.

What other people say about Symprove

On Trustpilot, Symprove has an ‘Excellent’ rated score of 4.5 out of 5 - which is high for a product of this type. This is from over 10,000 reviews.

Users on Trustpilot commonly say Symprove has helped them with the following issues.

IBS

Nick in February 2025 said:

“I used to suffer from terrible IBS which really affected my quality of life. I had had both an endoscopy & a colonoscopy to make sure that there was nothing more serious going on.

Fortunately, one day about 8 years ago, I read about Symprove in the Daily Mail. I immediately placed my order, which arrived the following day.

Within 3 days my IBS was gone! It was like a miracle. I continue to take it every day, I am now able to take a 35 ml "maintenance" dose & have no symptoms.

Thank you Symprove.”

Regular bowel movements

Janet in January 2025 said:

“I feel my stomach is calmer and I’m more regular in my bowel habits.”

Bloating

AF in November 2024 said:

“I have been using Symprove for about 6/7 months. Initially, I wasn’t convinced but gave it time to do its magic. I have tried so many different supplements. I can honestly say that after 3 months, I stopped feeling so bloated and windy. I I'm less constipated, have regular bowel movements and my immunity has definitely improved. I am going to continue you take this everyday.”

Energy levels

Linda in February 2025 said:

“I have been using Symprove for the past few weeks and I have seen a big difference in my gut health. There is less and less bloating, more energy and definitely better sleep. Highly recommend the product 👌”

Immunity

Hayley in March 2024 said:

“I have been taking Symprove for just over 6 months now and I LOVE IT. It really helps my IBS symptoms and overall immunity, I've just had my first cold in 12 months, and I have a 4 year old, so that's unheard of!! I find it boosts my overall wellbeing, not just gut health.“

Mental health

Clio in January 2024 said:

“Every time I restart symprove I vow never to stop again… and then life gets in the way… but this time I mean it. I feel so great, a couple of weeks in i began to feel so elated and that has continued for the rest of my first month! I know there is a link between gut health and mental health, but boy does symprove show me!“

Mental clarity

A customer in May 2024 said:

“Transformative. Mental clarity, more energy. Weight loss. Just amazing.“

Mood

Amallia in September 2024 said:

“I used it for my mental health and noticed a significant improvement in my mood.“

Skin health

A customer in February 2025 said:

“Since taking Symprove I have felt so much better, I have less brain fog, my skin has improved and I have so much more energy!“

Negative feedback

In terms of negative comments among the 5% of people who gave Symprove a 1-star rating, common concerns include:

• customer-service issues (like subscription problems or cancelling orders) are easily the most common cause for negative reviews

• delivery issues

• some people didn’t find it sufficiently effective for them or that it didn’t justify the price

• some people found it upset their digestive system - at least initially

Customer not happy with the customer service.

Flavour of Symprove

There are four available flavours:

• Original

• Mango and Passionfruit

• Strawberry and Raspberry

• Pineapple

I have tried the Mango and Passionfruit flavour as well as the Original flavour.

I much prefer the Mango and Passionfruit. It is acidic (as expected) and leaves a clean taste in the mouth. I have to say when I first tried it I found the acidity a bit confronting but this passed after a few days. Then I came to enjoy it very much as a morning ritual.

I found the original flavour to be similarly acidic but with a grainy aftertaste (no doubt from the barley) which lingered in the mouth a little.

Because you should wait 10 minutes after taking the shot to eat or drink anything (apart from water), you can’t mix it with something like juice. This is so you don’t trigger digestion and compromise the bacteria in your stomach.

Cost of Symprove

On a subscription basis it costs £49.99 per month, or £79.99 as a one-off 4-week purchase.

However, you can get 50% off using the discount code below.

Symprove discount code

Use discount code HELLOGUT50 for 50% off the first three months at symprove.com

Is Symprove worth it?

Yes, I absolutely think Symprove it worth trying if you are experiencing gut issues.

Firstly because it is designed to reach your gut alive and other probiotics are sometimes not very good at this.

And secondly because of the extensive research done on Symprove.

I think it has helped my wellbeing in a variety of ways so I recommend you try Symprove to see if it has similar positive effects for you.

Given the discount available (above) I don’t think there’s much to lose and potentially a lot to gain.

Review summary

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5.

Verdict: Symprove has stronger supporting evidence than most probiotics we test. In my four-month trial it improved mood, immunity, eczema and gut comfort. It is more expensive than some other brands though.

Pros

• well researched strains (but only four of them)

• 10 billion colony forming units per shot

• studies suggest it is superior at reaching the gut alive than other brands

• well reviewed by thousands of people with a wide range of reported benefits from customers

• I believe it has improved my gut health, energy, mood, eczema, general wellbeing and more

• generous discount code available (below)

Cons

• ongoing cost is higher than some other brands

• taste of the original flavour is not great initially

• having to take 10 minutes before food can sometimes get in the way of routine

• some subscription and customer service issues reported on Trustpilot

Discount for you

Use discount code HELLOGUT50 for 50% off the first three months at symprove.com.

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Factors we consider in our ratings

The factors we consider when doing a review (and the weightings of each of these) may vary depending on the product we are testing, but here are the key general factors we consider when we settle on a rating for a product.

Health benefits

We find out how the product will be good for your health and outline the benefits for you in simple language. This often involves doing research so you don’t have to. We often link to scientific studies or articles summarising scientific findings so you can dig deeper if you want to.

Things detrimental to health

We want to highlight where a product might include something bad for your health - even if it might be good for you in another way. This could include such things as pointing out certain additives it contains or high sugar levels.

How it’s made

This will vary depending on the product, but we want to see a quality process for making it and quality ingredients. For example, we want to see a kombucha traditionally fermented with lots of different microbial strains and we want to see a yoghurt made with fresh milk and not milk powders.

Price

While we expect quality products to be more expensive, they still have to be priced within reason. On the other side of things, a product which is priced very competitively will get a ratings boost based on the value it provides.

Flavour

For some products flavour won’t be a factor (eg probiotic tablets), but for others, like yoghurt or kimchi, flavour is a key aspect because these products are made to be enjoyed as well as being healthy! We will try to be as subjective as possible and describe the flavour in detail so you can get an idea of whether you would like it or not.

About the author

Written and reviewed by Travis Kelly, founder of Hello Gut Health, a site dedicated to evidence-based reviews of probiotics and other gut health products.

He combines first-hand experience making gut health foods with evidence-based analysis to make complex microbiome science accessible to everyday readers.

Learn more about me.

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