Probiotics

In-depth analyses of probiotic benefits, properties and challenges aiming to advance probiotic knowledge for the benefit of consumer health

 

Task Force Information

Objectives and list of Task Force members

Contact Information

Contact details in case you have specific questions

Activity Overview

Overview of ongoing and
upcoming activities

Expert Groups

Objectives, output and list of experts involved in each activity

Publications

List of publications of this
Task Force

Multimedia

Links to Task Force related documents, recordings and much more...

Completed Expert Groups

Details including experts involved of
each activity

Task Force Information

Objectives

Consumers, the scientific community, regulators and the food and dietary supplement industry show increasing interest in probiotics and their health benefits. The attention of the task force is thus focused on the understanding of the role of probiotics in health and disease, their mechanisms of action while increasing awareness of their direct/indirect benefits on health.

Task Force Members

* Scientific Advisors

Contact Information

For more detailed information, please contact Naomi Venlet at nvenlet@ilsieurope.be

Activity Overview

Mapping of probiotics and their activities in the small intestine - Ongoing -

Objectives

This activity will lead to a better understanding of the mode of action of probiotics in the small intestine, and to identify the most important gaps that still need to be filled. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this project should help improve clinical research on probiotic efficacy.

Probiotics and pregnancy - Upcoming -

Objectives

This activity aims to review and publish evidence on possible influences of the type of carbohydrates co-ingested with proteins, on post-prandial and longer-term protein utilization. Results may be applied in selecting carbohydrates to help compensate for poorer quality or intakes/utilisation of proteins (e.g. plant-based diets, ageing populations), and also highlighting research gaps.

Expected results

Peer reviewed publication

Postbiotics - Upcoming -

Objectives

Seek consumer, Health care practitioners and regulatory authorities input to frame a subsequent review paper on postbiotics, but with a focus on consumer concerns, knowledge gaps and misconceptions.

Expected results

Peer reviewed publication

Expert Groups

Mapping of probiotics and their activities in the small intestine

Background and Objectives

The knowledge of probiotics activity in humans is predominantly based on a reflection of what can be gathered in stool samples. However, many diseases have their origin in or are associated with the small intestine, such as certain diarrhoeas, auto-immune and celiac disease and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this activity is to look at the different barriers functions, microbial composition and physiology of the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum), models and technologies currently available to assess survival and understand how probiotics interact and act on this part of the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract.

Output

This activity will lead to a better understanding of the mode of action of probiotics in the small intestine, and to identify the most important gaps that still need to be filled. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this project should help improve clinical research on probiotic efficacy.

Expert Group Members

Publications

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		Early Nutrition and Long-Term Health
		
	



		
		Nutrition and Brain Health
		
	



		
		Nutrition, Immunity and Inflammation
		
	



		
		Prebiotics
		
	



		
		
	







		
		Probiotics
		
	



		GUT MICROBIOME AND HEALTH and NUTRITION AND CONSUMER SCIENCE
	

	
The gut and brain link via various metabolic and signalling pathways, each with the potential to influence mental, brain and cognitive health. Over the past decade, the involvement of the gut microbiota in gut-brain communication has become the focus of increased scientific interest, establishing the microbiota-gut-brain axis as a field of research. There is a growing number of association studies exploring the gut microbiota's possible role in memory, learning, anxiety, stress, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Consequently, attention is now turning to how the microbiota can become the target of nutritional and therapeutic strategies for improved brain health and well-being. However, while such strategies that target the gut microbiota to influence brain health and function are currently under development with varying levels of success, still very little is yet known about the triggers and mechanisms underlying the gut microbiota's apparent influence on cognitive or brain function and most evidence comes from pre-clinical studies rather than well controlled clinical trials/investigations. Filling the knowledge gaps requires establishing a standardised methodology for human studies, including strong guidance for specific focus areas of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, the need for more extensive biological sample analyses, and identification of relevant biomarkers. Other urgent requirements are new advanced models for in vitro and in vivo studies of relevant mechanisms, and a greater focus on omics technologies with supporting bioinformatics resources (training, tools) to efficiently translate study findings, as well as the identification of relevant targets in study populations. The key to building a validated evidence base rely on increasing knowledge sharing and multi-disciplinary collaborations, along with continued public-private funding support. This will allow microbiota-gut-brain axis research to move to its next phase so we can identify realistic opportunities to modulate the microbiota for better brain health.

	
To download this open-access article, please click here.

	
This work was conducted in collaboration with the Early Nutrition and Long-Term Health, Nutrition and Brain Health, Nutrition, Immunity and Inflammation, Prebiotics and Probiotics Task Forces.



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Citation: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6394212


The scientific understanding of prebiotic and probiotic mechanisms has grown substantially in recent years. Although effects are often strain and product specific, some prebiotic and probiotic benefits may be driven by common, shared mechanisms and may therefore be generalizable. The use of emerging physiological and analytical tools in a multidisciplinary research setting will enable the elucidation of further mechanisms. In this way, it will be possible to improve the understanding of prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic health effects. Based on recent sound scientific evidence, the monograph is a valuable reference work, aimed at informing a wide audience about the intestinal microbiota and the prebiotic and probiotic nutritional concepts.


    

  • To download the English version, click here.
    • 

  • To download the Portuguese version, click here.
    • 

  • To download the French version, click here.
    • 

  • To download the Spanish version, click here.
    • 

  • To download the Slovak version, click here.
    • 

  • To download the Japanese version, click here.
    • 

  • To download the Chinese version, click here.
    • 



Click on the image below to download the one-pager summary.

				
				One-pager PRE PRO concise monograph
				
	
Commissioned by the Prebiotics and Probiotics Task Forces.



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Humans often show variable responses to dietary, prebiotic, and probiotic interventions. Emerging evidence indicates that the gut microbiota is a key determinant for this population heterogeneity. Here, we provide an overview of some of the major computational and experimental tools being applied to critical questions of microbiota-mediated personalized nutrition and health. First, we discuss the latest advances in in silico modeling of the microbiota-nutrition-health axis, including the application of statistical, mechanistic, and hybrid artificial intelligence models. Second, we address high-throughput in vitro techniques for assessing inter-individual heterogeneity, from ex vivo batch culturing of stool and continuous culturing in anaerobic bioreactors, to more sophisticated organ-on-a-chip models that integrate both host and microbial compartments. Third, we explore in vivo approaches for better understanding personalized, microbiota-mediated responses to diet, prebiotics, and probiotics, from non-human animal models and human observational studies, to human feeding trials and crossover interventions. We highlight examples of existing, consumer-facing precision nutrition platforms that are currently leveraging the gut microbiota. Furthermore, we discuss how the integration of a broader set of the tools and techniques described in this piece can generate the data necessary to support a greater diversity of precision nutrition strategies. Finally, we present a vision of a precision nutrition and healthcare future, which leverages the gut microbiota to design effective, individual-specific interventions.


Download the full article here


or click on the image below to download the one-pager summary.

				
				One-pager PRE PRO EG Prediction of indv. responses
				
	
Commissioned by the Prebiotics and Probiotics Task Forces.



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Multimedia

Introductory video

 

 

Posters

Monitoring Immune Modulation by Nutrition in General Population: Identifying and Substantiating Effects on Human Health

Exploring the Interactions between Probiotics and Health

Webinars

'Toolsets for Mining the gut Microbiome to Enable Precision Nutrition'
Watch the Webinar
'Understanding Prebiotic and Probiotic Mechanisms that Drive Health Benefits'
Watch the Webinar

Completed Expert Groups

Overview of completed activities since 2021

* To see the full output of the task force, please visit the Task Force publication list