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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Dairy and Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313348
Title: Gut Microbiota: Impact of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, pharmabiotics and postbiotics on human health

Author
item CHALUVADI, SAIKIRAN - Harris Tea Company Private Label And Specialty Tea
item Hotchkiss, Arland
item YAM, KIT - Rutgers University

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2015
Publication Date: 10/3/2015
Citation: Chaluvadi, S., Hotchkiss, A.T., Yam, K. 2015. Gut Microbiota: Impact of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, pharmabiotics and postbiotics on human health. Book Chapter in Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics: Bioactive Foods in Promoting Health, Watson, R.R and Preedy, V.R. (Eds.), elsevier, New York. pp. 515-523. 2016. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-802189-7.00036-8.

Interpretive Summary: Chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease have a gut microbial component that can be modified by diet. Including beneficial bacteria and their related products in the diet has potential to stimulate human health and prevent chronic diseases but more research is needed to prove health claims and ensure product safety. Data produced from the Human Microbiome Project on gene functions described an incredibly large number of microbial species between individuals yet similar microbial metabolic pathways were detected in the gut microbial populations. This chapter reviews the current state of our understanding about how gut microbes are related to human health and asks important questions that will help sort exponentially increasing data to direct future research. Development of functional foods with beneficial bacteria will better utilize agricultural resources to feed the world and prevent chronic diseases that will ultimately save in health-care costs for our aging population.

Technical Abstract: Multidisciplinary approaches enabled a better understanding of the connection between human gut microbes and health. This knowledge is rapidly changing how we think about probiotics and related –biotics (prebiotics, synbiotics, pharmabiotics and postbiotics). Functional –omics approaches are very important tools used to understand inter-individual diversity of gut microbiota. Despite diverse gut microbial composition, individuals demonstrated similar microbial metabolic pathways emphasizing the importance of functional genes. Dysbiosis observed in chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease could be an important therapeutic target. Commensal bacteria delivered in the form of fecal transplant, stress adapted probiotic bacteria, pharmabiotic agents derived from beneficial bacteria and postbiotic bioactive compounds have enormous potential in the therapeutics and supplement industries for targeting dysbiosis. Several relevant questions are raised in this chapter that will provide a framework to evaluate exponentially increasing data related to the gut microbiome and human health.