A Perspective on the Application of Pro-/Synbiotics in Clinical Practice

In-vitro screening of compatible synbiotics and (introducing) "prophybiotics" as a tool to improve gut health

Synbiotics have been intensively studied recently to improve gut health of humans and animals. The success of synergistic synbiotics depends on the compatibility of the prebiotic and probiotic components. Certain plant extracts possess both antimicrobial and prebiotic properties representing a potential use in combination with probiotics to improve the gut health. Here, we coined the term "prophybiotics" to describe this combined bioactivity. The current study aimed to select prebiotics that are preferred as an energy source and antimicrobial plant extracts which do not inhibit the growth, of six strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB namely; Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lacticaseibacillus casei, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Pediococcus pentosaceus) in-vitro to identify compatible combinations for potential synbiotic/prophybiotic use, respectively. Their growth kinetics were profiled in the presence of prebiotics: Inulin, Raffinose, and Saccharicterpenin with glucose, as the control, using carbohydrate free MRS broth media. Similarly, their growth kinetics in MRS broth supplemented with turmeric, green tea, and garlic extracts at varying concentrations were profiled. The results revealed the most compatible pairs of prebiotics and LAB. Turmeric and garlic had very little inhibitory effect on the growth of the LAB while green tea inhibited the growth of all LAB in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, we conclude that turmeric and garlic have broad potential for use in prophybiotics, while the prebiotics studied here have limited use in synbiotics, with these LAB.

Lactobacillus acidophilus and Non-Digestible Carbohydrates: A Review

In the recent years, lactic acid bacteria species such as Lactobacillus are considering one of the important species of probiotics used in the food processing sector to produce fermented products and play a significant role for the transformation and preservation of food products. Besides, there is a huge exploration of new molecules that promote health and exhibit potential for technological applications such as non-digestible carbohydrates. The non-digestible carbohydrates provide various health benefits such as balancing and sustaining the microbiota in the intestine and increasing the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA). The aim of this review is to review some types of non-digestible carbohydrates as an enhancer for the growth of probiotics. These compounds can help in improving many characteristics of food such as sensory and textural properties.

Effects of synbiotics on the gut microbiota, blood and rearing parameters of chickens

The aim of the study was to assess the safety of three newly developed synbiotic preparations in feeding chickens. The study was carried out on 84 Specific Pathogen Free chickens, between 1st and 21st day of their life. Animals were divided into four groups fed ad libitum: three with an addition of synbiotics A, B or C and a control group (feed with no additives). Synbiotics contained Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and inulin (prebiotic). Rearing parameters were determined taking into account undesirable clinical and sectional symptoms, daily mortality and body weight of birds. In addition, chicken blood parameters were determined based on haematological, biochemical and serological tests. Samples of the intestinal content and of the excreta constituted a material for research aimed at determination of the dominant chicken gut microbiota. On the basis of the conducted investigation, it was found that synbiotics met the basic requirements for this type of formulas regarding the safety of use and had a positive effect on the health of chickens. Therefore, further research is being carried out on the application of these formulas in large-scale production. The next step of the research will be the comparison of effects of synbiotics with commercial probiotics.