ProbioticsProbiotics.doc

Probiotics, Prebiotics, Gut Microbiota, and Obesity BT Online Editor?|?November 17, 2009 by Margaret Furtado, MS, RD, LDNBariatric Times. 2009;6(11):27–30. INTRODUCTIONProbiotics are nonpathogenic live microorganisms that are believed to confer health benefits to the host when ingested. Researchers have suggested weight loss and/or antiobesity effects are among these benefits. Prebiotics are nondigestible oligosaccharides believed to act as “fertilizers” of colonic microbiota, enhancing growth of beneficial commensal organisms (e.g.Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus). Prebiotics are believed to confer health benefits on the host, including modulation of lipid metabolism, and researchers have suggested potential antiobesity effects as well, possibly by modulating gut hormones, such as peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1). The combination of prebiotics and probiotics, termed synbiotics, are believed to possess enhanced health benefits acting as a “functional food.” This article reviews the role of prebiotics and probiotics on obesity and discusses research that suggests that individuals with obesity may have differing amounts of particular microbiota (e.g.?Firmicutes) and that gastric bypass surgery may alter gut microbiota in a favorable way. ABSTRACTThis article provides an overview of probiotics and prebiotics as well as discussion on their relationship to gut microbiota and connection with current research, which suggests a correlation between particular types of gut bacteria and obesity. The role of genomics in further elucidating gut microbiota function will also be reviewed. A provocative look into the possible future applications in obesity medicine will also be provided PROBIOTICSProbiotics are nonpathogenic live microorganisms that, when ingested, confer health benefits to the host. The anti-obesity effect of?Lactobacillus rhamnosus?(L. rhamnosus) PL60, a bacterium of human origin that produces conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), was studied in d