Consumption of a Leuconostoc holzapfelii-enriched synbiotic beverage alters the composition of the microbiota and microbial extracellular vesicles

Abstract

Gut microbes: Vesicles reveal variations in populations Analyzing the contents of small membrane-bound sacs called extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are released by microbes in the gut, and which can readily be sampled in stools and urine, offers an effective way to monitor gut microbial populations. Bacteria known as probiotics and chemicals that sustain them called prebiotics are commonly used to encourage health-promoting changes in gut microbe content. Detecting any changes by analyzing the bacteria in stools, however, has proved difficult. Researchers in South Korea led by Yoon-Keun Kim of MD Healthcare Inc., Seoul, and Young-Koo Jee at Dankook University, Cheonan, found that analyzing microbial EVs in stools or urine detected changes more effectively. They analyzed EVs after administering a synbiotic drink – a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics. EV analysis could assist diagnosis of health problems associated with changes in gut microbial populations.