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
. 2019 Oct;16(10):605-616.
doi: 10.1038/s41575-019-0173-3. Epub 2019 Jul 11.

Probiotics and prebiotics in intestinal health and disease: from biology to the clinic

Mary Ellen Sanders  1 , Daniel J Merenstein  2 , Gregor Reid  3 , Glenn R Gibson  4 , Robert A Rastall  5
Affiliations
Review

Probiotics and prebiotics in intestinal health and disease: from biology to the clinic

Mary Ellen Sanders et al. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Oct.

Erratum in

Abstract

Probiotics and prebiotics are microbiota-management tools for improving host health. They target gastrointestinal effects via the gut, although direct application to other sites such as the oral cavity, vaginal tract and skin is being explored. Here, we describe gut-derived effects in humans. In the past decade, research on the gut microbiome has rapidly accumulated and has been accompanied by increased interest in probiotics and prebiotics as a means to modulate the gut microbiota. Given the importance of these approaches for public health, it is timely to reiterate factual and supporting information on their clinical application and use. In this Review, we discuss scientific evidence on probiotics and prebiotics, including mechanistic insights into health effects. Strains of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces have a long history of safe and effective use as probiotics, but Roseburia spp., Akkermansia spp., Propionibacterium spp. and Faecalibacterium spp. show promise for the future. For prebiotics, glucans and fructans are well proven, and evidence is building on the prebiotic effects of other substances (for example, oligomers of mannose, glucose, xylose, pectin, starches, human milk and polyphenols).

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations & World Health Organization. Health and nutritional properties of probiotics in food including powder milk with live lactic acid bacteria. FAO http://www.fao.org/3/a-a0512e.pdf (2001).
    1. Hill, C. et al. Expert consensus document. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 11, 506–514 (2014). This Consensus Statement examines the definition, evolution, uses, types and health attributes of probiotics. - PubMed
    1. Rook, G., Backhed, F., Levin, B. R., McFall-Ngai, M. J. & McLean, A. R. Evolution, human-microbe interactions, and life history plasticity. Lancet 390, 521–530 (2017). This article discusses how some microorganisms have co-evolved with humans and have crucial roles in host physiology and metabolism, whereas others are intrusive. - PubMed
    1. Reid, G. et al. Expanding the reach of probiotics through social enterprises. Benef. Microbes 9, 707–715 (2018). - PubMed
    1. Gibson, G. R. & Roberfroid, M. B. Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. J. Nutr. 125, 1401–1412 (1995). - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

-