Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jan;23(1):1-14.
doi: 10.5223/pghn.2020.23.1.1. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

Prebiotics in the Infant Microbiome: The Past, Present, and Future

Mohamad Miqdady  1 , Jihad Al Mistarihi  1 , Amer Azaz  1 , David Rawat  1
Affiliations
Review

Prebiotics in the Infant Microbiome: The Past, Present, and Future

Mohamad Miqdady et al. Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

The latest definition of a prebiotic is "a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit"; it now includes non-food elements and is applicable to extra-intestinal tissues. Prebiotics are recognized as a promising tool in the promotion of general health and in the prevention and treatment of numerous juvenile diseases. Prebiotics are considered an immunoactive agent, with the potential for long-lasting effects extending past active administration of the prebiotic. Because of its extremely low risk of serious adverse effects, ease of administration, and strong potential for influencing the composition and function of the microbiota in the gut and beyond, the beneficial clinical applications of prebiotics are expanding. Prebiotics are the third largest component of human breast milk. Preparations including galactooligosaccharides (GOS), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), 2'-fucosyllactose, lacto-N-neo-tetraose are examples of commonly used and studied products for supplementation in baby formula. In particular, the GOS/FOS combination is the most studied. Maintaining a healthy microbiome is essential to promote homeostasis of the gut and other organs. With more than 1,000 different microbial species in the gut, it is likely more feasible to modify the gut microbiota through the use of certain prebiotic mixtures rather than supplementing with a particular probiotic strain. In this review, we discuss the latest clinical evidence regarding prebiotics and its role in gut immunity, allergy, infections, inflammation, and functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Keywords: Functional gastrointestinal disorders; Gut heath; Human milk oligosaccharides; Prebiotics; Probiotics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Flow diagram highlighting common natural and synthetic sources of prebiotics. CLAs: conjugated linoleic acid, FOS: fructooligosaccharides.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Schematic demonstrating the mechanism of action and potential health benefits of prebiotics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Weiner HL. Oral tolerance, an active immunologic process mediated by multiple mechanisms. J Clin Invest. 2000;106:935–937. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Faria AM, Weiner HL. Oral tolerance. Immunol Rev. 2005;206:232–259. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vighi G, Marcucci F, Sensi L, Di Cara G, Frati F. Allergy and the gastrointestinal system. Clin Exp Immunol. 2008;153(Suppl 1):3–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Turnbaugh PJ, Ley RE, Mahowald MA, Magrini V, Mardis ER, Gordon JI. An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest. Nature. 2006;444:1027–1031. - PubMed
    1. Tilg H, Kaser A. Gut microbiome, obesity, and metabolic dysfunction. J Clin Invest. 2011;121:2126–2132. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources