The Impact of Gut Microbiota in Human Health and Diseases: Implication for Therapeutic Potential

The Potential of Honey as a Prebiotic Food to Re-engineer the Gut Microbiome Toward a Healthy State

Honey has a long history of use for the treatment of digestive ailments. Certain honey types have well-established bioactive properties including antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. In addition, honey contains non-digestible carbohydrates in the form of oligosaccharides, and there is increasing evidence from in vitro, animal, and pilot human studies that some kinds of honey have prebiotic activity. Prebiotics are foods or compounds, such as non-digestible carbohydrates, that are used to promote specific, favorable changes in the composition and function of the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota plays a critical role in human health and well-being, with disturbances to the balance of these organisms linked to gut inflammation and the development and progression of numerous conditions, such as colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, obesity, and mental health issues. Consequently, there is increasing interest in manipulating the gut microbiota to a more favorable balance as a way of improving health by dietary means. Current research suggests that certain kinds of honey can reduce the presence of infection-causing bacteria in the gut including Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Clostridiodes difficile, while simultaneously stimulating the growth of potentially beneficial species, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. In this paper, we review the current and growing evidence that shows the prebiotic potential of honey to promote healthy gut function, regulate the microbial communities in the gut, and reduce infection and inflammation. We outline gaps in knowledge and explore the potential of honey as a viable option to promote or re-engineer a healthy gut microbiome.

Prebiotic effects of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) fiber on cecal bacterial composition, short-chain fatty acids, and diarrhea incidence in weaning piglets

Dietary alfalfa fiber (AF) is conceived to modulate gut microbial richness and diversity to improve the health and growth of weaning piglets.

Probiotics for weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The intestinal microbiota has been reported to be one of the potential determinants of obesity in recent human and animal studies. Probiotics may affect the gut microbiota to modulate obesity. This systematic review aims to summarize and critically evaluate the evidence from clinical trials that have tested the effectiveness of probiotics or foods containing probiotics as a treatment for weight loss. Literature searches of electronic databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE were conducted. Methodological quality was assessed using body weight and body mass index (BMI). Initial searches yielded 368 articles. Of these, only 9 met the selection criteria. Because of insufficient data, only 4 of the studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the therapeutic efficacy of probiotics with placebo. The meta-analysis of these data showed no significant effect of probiotics on body weight and BMI (body weight, n = 196; mean difference, -1.77; 95% confidence interval, -4.84 to 1.29; P = .26; BMI, n = 154; mean difference, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, -0.24 to 1.78; P = .14). However, the total number of RCTs included in the analysis, the total sample size, and the methodological quality of the primary studies were too low to draw definitive conclusions. Thus, more rigorously designed RCTs are necessary to examine the effect of probiotics on body weight in greater detail. Collectively, the RCTs examined in this meta-analysis indicated that probiotics have limited efficacy in terms of decreasing body weight and BMI and were not effective for weight loss.

Influence of fermented milk products, prebiotics and probiotics on microbiota composition and health

The gut microbiota is a highly diverse and relative stabile ecosystem increasingly recognized for its impact on human health. The homeostasis of microbes and the host is also referred to as eubiosis. In contrast, deviation from the normal composition, defined as dysbiosis, is often associated with localized diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease or colonic cancer, but also with systemic diseases like metabolic syndrome and allergic diseases. Modulating a gut microbiota dysbiosis with nutritional concepts may contribute to improving health status, reducing diseases or disease symptoms or supporting already established treatments. The gut microbiota can be modulated by different nutritional concepts, varying from specific food ingredients to complex diets or by the ingestion of particular live microorganisms. To underpin the importance of bacteria in the gut, we describe molecular mechanisms involved in the crosstalk between gut bacteria and the human host, and review the impact of different nutritional concepts such as pre-, pro- and synbiotics on the gastrointestinal ecosystem and their potential health benefits. The aim of this review is to provide examples of potential nutritional concepts that target the gut microbiota to support human physiology and potentially health outcomes.