Dietary prebiotics: current status and new definition

TLDR

Future prebiotic research may extend beyond the gastrointestinal tract to modulate microbial ecosystems in the oral cavity, skin, and urogenital tract. The review aims to define a niche for “dietary prebiotics” by establishing a clear definition and scope. ISAPP scientists convened in 2008 to discuss prebiotic functionality and proposed that a dietary prebiotic is a selectively fermented ingredient that induces specific changes in gastrointestinal microbiota, conferring health benefits. The field of prebiotics is currently dominated by gastrointestinal events.

Abstract

In November 2008, a group of scientists met at the 6th Meeting of the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) in London, Ontario, Canada, to discuss the functionality of prebiotics. As a result of this, it was concluded that the prebiotic field is currently dominated by gastrointestinal events. However, in the future, it may be the case that other mixed microbial ecosystems may be modulated by a prebiotic approach, such as the oral cavity, skin and the urogenital tract. Therefore, a decision was taken to build upon the current prebiotic status and define a niche for ‘dietary prebiotics’. This review is co-authored by the working group of ISAPP scientists and sets the background for defining a dietary prebiotic as ‘‘a selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit(s) upon host health’’.