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Review
. 2025 Aug 29:12:1648775.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1648775. eCollection 2025.

Characterization of fermented foods: bone health

Jyoti Prakash Tamang  1 , Fojan Agahi  2 , Birsen Yilmaz  3 , İbrahim Ender Künili  4 , Julie Mardon  5 , Tuğçe Bulmus-Tuccar  6 , Aleksandra Torbica  7 , Daniela Nikolovska Nedelkoska  8 , Mary-Liis Kütt  9 , Jeadran Malagón-Rojas  10 , Mayra Alejandra Parada  11 , Baltasar Mayo  12   13 , Juana Frias  2
Affiliations
Review

Characterization of fermented foods: bone health

Jyoti Prakash Tamang et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Fermented foods are increasingly recognized for their potential benefits in supporting bone health, attributed to their rich content of bioactive compounds including vitamins K and B, polyphenols, peptides, and fermentation-modified phytates. This review examines how these components, enhanced in bioavailability through fermentation, may modulate bone metabolism via multiple mechanisms: improving mineral absorption, reducing inflammation, regulating oxidative stress, and influencing osteoblast and osteoclast activity. Special attention is given to the gut-bone axis, where fermented foods interact with gut microbiota to produce metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids and immunomodulatory compounds that may further support skeletal health. While preclinical and population-level studies show promising associations, clinical evidence remains limited and heterogeneous. Future research should focus on human trials, strain-specific effects, and long-term outcomes to fully establish the role of fermented foods in osteoporosis prevention and bone health maintenance.

Keywords: bio-peptide; bone health; fermented foods; gut-bone; phytase; vitamin K.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the effects of fermented food-derived bioactive compounds and microbial modulation on bone metabolism.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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