Prebiotics: Definition, Types, Sources, Mechanisms, and Clinical Applications
Dorna Davani-Davari,
Manica Negahdaripour,
Iman Karimzadeh,
Mostafa Seifan,
Milad Mohkam,
Seyed Jalil Masoumi,
Aydin Berenjian,
Younes Ghasemi
Affiliations
Dorna Davani-Davari
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Incubator, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348, Iran
Manica Negahdaripour
Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348, Iran
Iman Karimzadeh
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348, Iran
Mostafa Seifan
Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3216, New Zealand
Milad Mohkam
Biotechnology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348, Iran
Seyed Jalil Masoumi
Nutrition Research Center, Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348, Iran
Aydin Berenjian
Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3216, New Zealand
Younes Ghasemi
Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348, Iran
Prebiotics are a group of nutrients that are degraded by gut microbiota. Their relationship with human overall health has been an area of increasing interest in recent years. They can feed the intestinal microbiota, and their degradation products are short-chain fatty acids that are released into blood circulation, consequently, affecting not only the gastrointestinal tracts but also other distant organs. Fructo-oligosaccharides and galacto-oligosaccharides are the two important groups of prebiotics with beneficial effects on human health. Since low quantities of fructo-oligosaccharides and galacto-oligosaccharides naturally exist in foods, scientists are attempting to produce prebiotics on an industrial scale. Considering the health benefits of prebiotics and their safety, as well as their production and storage advantages compared to probiotics, they seem to be fascinating candidates for promoting human health condition as a replacement or in association with probiotics. This review discusses different aspects of prebiotics, including their crucial role in human well-being.
