Miraculous Health Benefits of Prebiotics

A prebiotic is a living microorganism that, when administered in sufficient numbers is beneficial to the host and exerts health benefits beyond inherent basic nutrition. Prebiotics include foods, medicines and dietary supplements. In general, the benefits of the regular consumption of prebiotics include enhanced immune function, improved colonic integrity, decreased incidence and duration of intestinal infections, down-regulated allergic response, and improved digestion and elimination. Pharmaceutical and nutritional industries are exploring more natural treatments for health conscious consumers as natural treatments have been effective since immemorial and are staging a comeback and natural ‘renaissance’ is happening all over the globe. INTRODUCTION: Prebiotics are defined as “selectively fermented ingredients that allow specific changes, both in the composition and or activity in the gastrointestinal microflora that confer benefits upon host well-being and health . Prebiotics are also defined as non-digestible to lowdigestible food ingredients that benefit the host organism by selectively stimulating the growth or activity of one or more than but limited number of probiotic bacteria in the colon 2, 3, 4, . This role is played by Fermentable carbohydrates, which are not digested or poorly digested in the small intestine and stimulate, preferentially, the growth of bifidobacteria and some Gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the probiotic bacteria administered to humans play this role. Complex carbohydrates traverse through the small intestine to the lower gut where they become available for some colonic bacteria but are utilized by only certain microbial types out of the majority of the bacteria present in the colon. Lactulose, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), Fructooligo saccharides (FOS), inulin and its hydrolysates, maltooligo-saccharides, and resistant starch are the prebiotics commonly used in human nutrition. The main end products of carbohydrate metabolism by the way of fermentation by enzymes of Probiotic origin are short-chained fatty acids, namely acetate, butyrate and propionate, which are further used by the host organism as an energy source. In practice, the most common oligosaccharides are inulin and its hydrolysates and oligofructans. The majority of studies have so far focused on inulin, FOS and GOS 6, . These saccharides have now a long history of safe use and are generally regarded as safe, although there is some concern over increased gas production with some compounds, particularly when ingested in higher amounts or during the first few days of intake. They can be found in chicory, topinambuco, onion, garlic, asparagus, artichoke, leek, bananas, tomatos and many other plants.