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1.
Nutrition and gut health: the impact of specific dietary components - it's not just five-a-day.
Rhodes, JM
The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2021;(1):9-18
Abstract
The health benefits of fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre have been promoted for many years. Much of the supporting evidence is circumstantial or even contradictory and mechanisms underlying health benefits of specific foods are poorly understood. Colorectal cancer shows marked geographical differences in incidence, probably linked with diet, and explanations for this require knowledge of the complex interactions between diet, microbiota and the gut epithelium. Dietary fibres can act as prebiotics, encouraging growth of saccharolytic bacteria, but other mechanisms are also important. Some but not all soluble fibres have a 'contrabiotic' effect inhibiting bacterial adherence to the epithelium. This is particularly a property of pectins (galacturonans) whereas dietary fructans, previously regarded as beneficial prebiotics, can have a proinflammatory effect mediated via toxic effects of high butyrate concentrations. This also suggests that ulcerative colitis could in part result from potentially toxic faecal butyrate concentrations in the presence of a damaged mucus layer. Epithelial adherence of lectins, either dietary lectins as found in legumes, or bacterial lectins such as the galactose-binding lectin expressed by colon cancer-associated Fusobacterium nucleatum, may also be important and could be inhibitable by specific dietary glycans. Conversely, emulsifiers in processed foods may increase bacterial translocation and alter the microbiota thus promoting inflammation or cancer. Focusing on one condition is of limited value although in developing public health messages and growing evidence for impacts of dietary components on all-cause mortality is gaining more attention. We are only just starting to understand the complex interactions between food, the microbiota and health.
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2.
Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics: Implications and Beneficial Effects against Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Simon, E, Călinoiu, LF, Mitrea, L, Vodnar, DC
Nutrients. 2021;(6)
Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is still a common functional gastrointestinal disease that presents chronic abdominal symptoms but with a pathophysiology that is not yet fully elucidated. Moreover, the use of the synergistic combination of prebiotics and probiotics, known as synbiotics, for IBS therapy is still in the early stages. Advancements in technology led to determining the important role played by probiotics in IBS, whereas the present paper focuses on the detailed review of the various pathophysiologic mechanisms of action of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics via multidisciplinary domains involving the gastroenterology (microbiota modulation, alteration of gut barrier function, visceral hypersensitivity, and gastrointestinal dysmotility) immunology (intestinal immunological modulation), and neurology (microbiota-gut-brain axis communication and co-morbidities) in mitigating the symptoms of IBS. In addition, this review synthesizes literature about the mechanisms involved in the beneficial effects of prebiotics and synbiotics for patients with IBS, discussing clinical studies testing the efficiency and outcomes of synbiotics used as therapy for IBS.
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3.
Efficiency of Resistant Starch and Dextrins as Prebiotics: A Review of the Existing Evidence and Clinical Trials.
Włodarczyk, M, Śliżewska, K
Nutrients. 2021;(11)
Abstract
In well-developed countries, people have started to pay additional attention to preserving healthy dietary habits, as it has become common knowledge that neglecting them may easily lead to severe health impairments, namely obesity, malnutrition, several cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, cancers, hypertensions, and inflammations. Various types of functional foods were developed that are enriched with vitamins, probiotics, prebiotics, and dietary fibers in order to develop a healthy balanced diet and to improve the general health of consumers. Numerous kinds of fiber are easily found in nature, but they often have a noticeable undesired impact on the sensory features of foods or on the digestive system. This led to development of modified dietary fibers, which have little to no impact on taste of foods they are added to. At the same time, they possess all the benefits similar to those of prebiotics, such as regulating gastrointestinal microbiota composition, increasing satiety, and improving the metabolic parameters of a human. In the following review, the evidence supporting prebiotic properties of modified starches, particularly resistant starches and their derivatives, resistant dextrins, was assessed and deliberated, which allowed drawing an interesting conclusion on the subject.
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4.
Role of Gut Microbiota, Probiotics and Prebiotics in the Cardiovascular Diseases.
Oniszczuk, A, Oniszczuk, T, Gancarz, M, Szymańska, J
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;(4)
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in identifying and applying new, naturally occurring molecules that promote health. Probiotics are defined as "live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host". Quite a few fermented products serve as the source of probiotic strains, with many factors influencing the effectiveness of probiotics, including interactions of probiotic bacteria with the host's microbiome. Prebiotics contain no microorganisms, only substances which stimulate their growth. Prebiotics can be obtained from various sources, including breast milk, soybeans, and raw oats, however, the most popular prebiotics are the oligosaccharides contained in plants. Recent research increasingly claims that probiotics and prebiotics alleviate many disorders related to the immune system, cancer metastasis, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. However, little is known about the role of these supplements as important dietary components in preventing or treating cardiovascular disease. Still, some reports and clinical studies were conducted, offering new ways of treatment. Therefore, the aim of this review is to discuss the roles of gut microbiota, probiotics, and prebiotics interventions in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
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5.
Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics in the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment: A Review.
Chlebicz-Wójcik, A, Śliżewska, K
Biomolecules. 2021;(8)
Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome is not a life-threatening disease, yet it significantly affects the quality of life and contributes to economic loss. It is estimated that even up to 45% of the world's population can suffer from the disease. The first attempts to diagnose irritable bowel syndrome were made at the end of the 19th century; however, establishing appropriate diagnostic criteria and treatment methods is still ongoing. To date, little is known about the etiology of irritable bowel syndrome; however, growing attention is drawn to the intestinal microbiota as a factor in the disease development. For this reason, researchers have conducted many studies on therapies that modulate the microbiota, among which probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics are widely studied. To date, most studies have examined probiotics; however, there are also several studies demonstrating the efficacy of prebiotics and synbiotics. The aim of this review was to summarize findings on the usefulness of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
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6.
Potential for enriching next-generation health-promoting gut bacteria through prebiotics and other dietary components.
Lordan, C, Thapa, D, Ross, RP, Cotter, PD
Gut microbes. 2020;(1):1-20
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Abstract
The human intestinal commensal microbiota and associated metabolic products have long been regarded as contributors to host health. As the identity and activities of the various members of this community have become clearer, newly identified health-associated bacteria, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Akkermansia muciniphila, Ruminococcus bromii and Roseburia species, have emerged. Notably, the abundance of many of these bacteria is inversely correlated to several disease states. While technological and regulatory hurdles may limit the use of strains from these taxa as probiotics, it should be possible to utilize prebiotics and other dietary components to selectively enhance their growth in situ. Dietary components of potential relevance include well-established prebiotics, such as galacto-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides and inulin, while other putative prebiotics, such as other oligosaccharides, polyphenols, resistant starch, algae and seaweed as well as host gut metabolites such as lactate and acetate, may also be applied with the aim of selectively and/or differentially affecting the beneficial bacterial community within the gastrointestinal environment. The present review provides an overview of the dietary components that could be applied in this manner.
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Mechanisms of Action of Prebiotics and Their Effects on Gastro-Intestinal Disorders in Adults.
Guarino, MPL, Altomare, A, Emerenziani, S, Di Rosa, C, Ribolsi, M, Balestrieri, P, Iovino, P, Rocchi, G, Cicala, M
Nutrients. 2020;(4)
Abstract
In recent years, research has focused on the use of dietary fibers and prebiotics, since many of these polysaccharides can be metabolized by intestinal microbiota, leading to the production of short-chain fatty acids. The metabolites of prebiotic fermentation also show anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory capabilities, suggesting an interesting role in the treatment of several pathological conditions. Galacto-oligosaccharide and short- and long-chain fructans (Fructo-oligosaccharides and inulin) are the most studied prebiotics, even if other dietary compounds seem to show the same features. There is an increasing interest in dietary strategies to modulate microbiota. The aim of this review is to explore the mechanisms of action of prebiotics and their effects on the principal gastro-intestinal disorders in adults, with a special focus on Galacto-oligosaccharides, Fructo-oligosaccharides, lactulose and new emerging substances which currently have evidence of prebiotics effects, such as xilooligosaccharides, soybean oligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, lactobionic acid, resistant starch and polyphenols.
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Nutritional interest of dietary fiber and prebiotics in obesity: Lessons from the MyNewGut consortium.
Delzenne, NM, Olivares, M, Neyrinck, AM, Beaumont, M, Kjølbæk, L, Larsen, TM, Benítez-Páez, A, Romaní-Pérez, M, Garcia-Campayo, V, Bosscher, D, et al
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). 2020;(2):414-424
Abstract
The aim of EU project MyNewGut is to contribute to future public health-related recommendations supported by new insight in gut microbiome and nutrition-host relationship. In this Opinion Paper, we first revisit the concept of dietary fiber, taking into account their interaction with the gut microbiota. This paper also summarizes the main effects of dietary fibers with prebiotic properties in intervention studies in humans, with a particular emphasis on the effects of arabinoxylans and arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides on metabolic alterations associated with obesity. Based on the existing state of the art and future development, we elaborate the steps required to propose dietary guidelines related to dietary fibers, taking into account their interaction with the gut microbiota.
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Probiotics as an Adjunct Therapy for the Treatment of Halitosis, Dental Caries and Periodontitis.
Bustamante, M, Oomah, BD, Mosi-Roa, Y, Rubilar, M, Burgos-Díaz, C
Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins. 2020;(2):325-334
Abstract
Probiotics and prebiotics are popular among consumers worldwide as natural approaches to prevent gastrointestinal diseases. The effects of their consumption on the gastrointestinal system have been extensively investigated. Recently, the efficacy of probiotics and prebiotics has been evaluated against naturally developing microbiome imbalance in the human body, such as in the oral cavity, skin, female urogenital tract, and respiratory tract. This review examines the scientific data related to the effects of probiotics on the treatment of diseases occurring in the oral cavity. Probiotics can effectively prevent and treat some infectious diseases in the oral cavity, such as halitosis and periodontitis, and can reduce the development of dental caries and the concentration of harmful bacteria, according to clinical studies. The results of this meta-analysis also suggest the use of probiotics to treat halitosis and periodontitis. However, the evidence may be inconclusive due in part to the use of a wide range of probiotics, non-standardized study design, small population size, poor quality reports, and inconsistent data. Therefore, future studies should homogenize terms and definitions for primary and secondary outcomes, increase the number of volunteers/patients in in vitro tests and clinical studies, and include an evaluation of the combined use of pre- and probiotics.
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10.
Non-Dairy Fermented Beverages as Potential Carriers to Ensure Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Bioactive Compounds Arrival to the Gut and Their Health Benefits.
Valero-Cases, E, Cerdá-Bernad, D, Pastor, JJ, Frutos, MJ
Nutrients. 2020;(6)
Abstract
In alignment with Hippocrates' aphorisms "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food" and "All diseases begin in the gut", recent studies have suggested that healthy diets should include fermented foods to temporally enhance live microorganisms in our gut. As a result, consumers are now demanding this type of food and fermented food has gained popularity. However, certain sectors of population, such as those allergic to milk proteins, lactose intolerant and strict vegetarians, cannot consume dairy products. Therefore, a need has arisen in order to offer consumers an alternative to fermented dairy products by exploring new non-dairy matrices as probiotics carriers. Accordingly, this review aims to explore the benefits of different fermented non-dairy beverages (legume, cereal, pseudocereal, fruit and vegetable), as potential carriers of bioactive compounds (generated during the fermentation process), prebiotics and different probiotic bacteria, providing protection to ensure that their viability is in the range of 106-107 CFU/mL at the consumption time, in order that they reach the intestine in high amounts and improve human health through modulation of the gut microbiome.