From Structure to Function: How Prebiotic Diversity Shapes Gut Integrity and Immune Balance
- Author: mycolabadmin
- 12/12/2024
- View Source
Summary
This comprehensive review explains how prebiotics—special dietary fibers that feed beneficial gut bacteria—help maintain a healthy digestive system and strong immune response. By nourishing good bacteria and directly strengthening the intestinal barrier, prebiotics can reduce harmful inflammation and potentially lower cancer risk. Different types of prebiotics like inulin and resistant starch work through both bacterial fermentation and direct immune cell interaction, making them promising tools for preventing various diseases.
Background
Microbiota stability and diversity are essential for a beneficial symbiotic relationship between host and microorganisms. Microbial dysbiosis, characterized by disruption of the homeostatic bacterial community, predisposes individuals to various diseases including inflammation, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and certain cancers. Prebiotics are non-digestible molecules that serve as substrates for beneficial gut microorganisms.
Objective
This review examines how prebiotic diversity influences gut barrier integrity and immune balance, with emphasis on reducing inflammation and mitigating colorectal cancer risk. The study evaluates both microbiota-dependent and direct immune-modulating effects of prebiotics through preclinical and clinical evidence.
Results
Four distinct keyword clusters were identified in prebiotic-inflammation research: animal/cell experimentation, human clinical studies, microbiome-related terms, and metabolic disorders. Prebiotics demonstrated effects on inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10) and direct modulation of toll-like receptors. Emerging prebiotics including polyphenols and resistant starch showed prebiotic potential beyond conventional types like inulin and FOS.
Conclusion
Prebiotics reduce inflammation and support gut barrier function through both microbiota modulation and direct interaction with immune and epithelial cells. Future research should focus on structure-function relationships, standardization of methodologies, and addressing individual variability to establish explicit protocols for using prebiotics as adjunct therapies for inflammation-related disorders.
- Published in:Nutrients,
- Study Type:Review,
- Source: PMID: 39770907, DOI: 10.3390/nu16244286