International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition· 2025Q1· Review
Prebiotics: types, selectivity and utilization by gut microbes
- 21citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2025year
Short summary
Prebiotics selectively feed beneficial gut microbes, increasing short-chain fatty acid production, strengthening the gut barrier, and improving metabolic and immune health.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Prebiotics selectively enhance beneficial gut bacteria (e.g., Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus).
- Fermentation of prebiotics yields short-chain fatty acids, strengthening the gut barrier.
- Benefits include improved immune response, metabolic markers, and gastrointestinal regularity.
- Examples of prebiotics include inulin, fructooligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides, and polyphenols.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Prebiotics are dietary components selectively utilised by the host’s gut microbiota and confer health benefits. They enhance cross-nutritional interactions by supporting beneficial bacteria (particularly Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus), increase the production of short-chain fatty acids through fermentation, and consequently strengthen the intestinal barrier, balance the immune response, improve metabolic markers (lipid and glucose profiles), regulate key gastrointestinal outcomes such as stool frequency and consistency, and improve some mood/cognitive measures. In early life, human milk oligosaccharides are associated with a Bifidobacterium-dominated ecology and immune development; N-linked and O-linked glycans derived from dietary glycoproteins may exhibit selective utilisation based on binding and species differences; and dietary polyphenols, after limited intestinal absorption, may transform into phenolic metabolites in the colon, shaping the microbiota in a prebiotic-like manner. This review addresses this entire framework, including inulin-type fructans (inulin and fructooligosaccharides), galactooligosaccharides, xylo-oligosaccharides and arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, lactulose, human milk oligosaccharides, N- and O-linked glycans, and dietary polyphenols as prebiotic-like modulators, with their mechanisms and practical implications.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2025 · DOI ↗
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Field: Nutrition and Dietetics
Nutrition and DieteticsNursing