Trends in dietary nutrition and their personalization are progress in medical science and point out the necessity of adaptation and development of innovations in health system. The main objective of this article is to review the role of dietary fibre as prebiotics in nutrition with different functionality, its influence on modulation of intestinal microbiota, which has an essential role in maintenance of healthy organisms in people of all ages.

Diet interventions and natural bioactive supplements have now been extensively studied to reduce risks of colon cancer, which is one of the major public health problem throughout the world. The objective of our investigation was to study the effects of probiotic, prebiotic, nutritional plant extract, and plant oil on selected biochemical and immunological parameters in rats with colon cancer induced by N,N dimethylhydrazine (DMH). Male and female Wistar albino rats were were fed by a high-fat (HF) diet (10% fat in the diet) and were divided into 9 groups: Control group; PRO group -HF diet supplemented with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum to provide 3 x 10 9 c.f.u. of strain/1 ml of medium; PRE group -HF diet supplemented with inulin enriched with oligofructose (2% of HF diet); HES group -HF diet supplemented with plant extract of Aesculus hippocastanum L. (1% of HF diet); OIL group -HF diet comprised Lini oleum virginale (2% of HF diet); and combination of probiotic microorganisms and bioactive compounds in the groups -PRO-PRE, PRO-HES, PRO-OIL, PRE-OIL. Carcinogenesis was iniciated with subcutaneous injection of DMH (20 mg/kg) two times at week interval and dietary treatments were continued for the six weeks. Application of probiotic microorganisms and bioactive compounds in all treated groups significantly decreased the activities of bacterial enzymes (p<0.001), the fecal bile acids concentration (p<0.01; p<0.001) and significantly increased serum TNFα level (p<0.001) in comparison to the control rats. The number of coliforms was reduced in PRO, PRO-PRE, PRO-OIL and PRE-OIL groups and significantly higher count of lactobacilli (p<0.05) was observed in PRO-PRE, PRO-OIL and PRE-OIL groups in compare with the controls. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that probiotic microorganisms and bioactive compounds could exert a preventive effect on colon carcinogenesis induced by DMH.

Growing interest in the development of innovative functional products as ideal carriers for synbiotics, e.g., nutrient bars, yogurt, chocolate, juice, ice cream, and cheese, to ensure the daily intake of probiotics and prebiotics, which are needed to maintain a healthy gut microbiota and overall well-being, is undeniable and inevitable. This review focuses on the modern approaches that are currently being developed to modulate the gut microbiota, with an emphasis on the health benefits mediated by co-encapsulated synbiotics and immobilized probiotics. The impact of processing, storage, and simulated gastrointestinal conditions on the viability and bioactivity of probiotics together with prebiotics such as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, phytochemicals, and dietary fibers using various delivery systems are considered. Despite the proven biological properties of synbiotics, research in this area needs to be focused on the proper selection of probiotic strains, their prebiotic counterparts, and delivery systems to avoid suppression of their synergistic or complementary effect on human health. Future directions should lead to the development of functional food products containing stable synbiotics tailored for different age groups or specifically designed to fulfill the needs of adjuvant therapy.

No abstract

The intestinal microflora plays a crucial role in the health of humans and animals. All functions of the absorption of nutrients are connected with the valid digestive tract. Approximately 70% of the immune function is derived from the gut, being composed of the mucosal barrier, submucosal glands and the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (Bengmark, 2002 ABSTRACT: Effects of the probiotic (PRO) Lactobacillus plantarum and of the combination of PRO and the prebiotic (PRE) inulin enriched with oligofructose (2%), and PRO with Lini oleum virginale (O) on counts of lactobacilli and coliforms and enzymatic activities in faeces of rats were studied. The rats (n = 60) were divided into 5 groups of 12 subjects. The animals were fed on a high fat diet (10%) for 8 weeks of experiment. Colon cancer was induced by the application of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) twice a week in a dose of 20 mg/kg s.c. in groups G2-G5. The rats in group 1 (control 1) received a diet without any supplements. The rats in group 2 (control 2) received 1,2 DMH without any supplements. The rats in group 3 received PRO, group 4 PRO and PRE, and group 5 received PRO and O. A significant decrease (P < 0.05) of coliforms was found out after the application of PRO, PRO-O, and PRO-PRE in comparison with control group G2. Significantly higher (P < 0.05) counts of lactobacilli were determined after the application of PRO-O and PRO-PRE. Significantly lower (P < 0.001) activities of β-galactosidase, β-glucuronidase and α-glucosidase were observed in PRO, PRO-PRE and PRO-O, while in the case of the enzyme β-glucosidase the activity was lower only after the addition of PRO-O. The protective effect of lactobacilli was observed in the order PRO-O, PRO-PRE, and PRO. It was shown that combinations of PRO-O and PRO-PRE had a synergistic effect which was higher than the effect of administering only PRO.