Table 1.
The prebiotic concept over the years. Consisting of a panel of academic and industrial experts, the ISAPP regularly convenes to state the definition and scope of prebiotics. New considerations are gradually included along with scientific research progress, consumer interest, and technological innovations from industrial scientists.
| Evolution of the Prebiotic Concept | Additional Considerations from the Previous Definition | Ingredients Incrementally Considered as Prebiotics |
|---|---|---|
| “non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon, and thus improves host health” [22] |
None | FOS |
| “selectively fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal microbiota that confer benefits upon host well-being and health” [20] |
(a) non-digestibility (b) fermentation by intestinal microflora (c) selective stimulation of the growth and/or activity of intestinal bacteria |
Inulin tGOS Lactulose Candidates * are listed: IMO, lactosucrose, SOS, XOS, GlOS, and other compounds |
| NB: there is no new definition of a prebiotic, but rather a validation and an expansion of the prebiotic concept [26] |
(a) nature of the prebiotics (b) dose-effect relation (c) animals and humans |
None |
| NB: there is no new definition of a prebiotic, but rather a validation and an expansion of the prebiotic concept [23] |
(a) increase in the genus Bifidobacterium as a marker of intestinal health (b) selectivity of other genera or species than bifidobacteria (e.g., butyrate-producing bacteria) (c) beneficial effects in the colon and the whole body |
None |
| “a non-digestible compound that, through its metabolisation by microorganisms in the gut, modulates composition and/or activity of the gut microbiota, thus conferring a beneficial physiological effect on the host” [24] |
(a) anatomical restriction to the gut (b) requirement or not of fermentation (c) restriction only to carbohydrates (d) requirement or not of microbiota modulation (possibility of having other direct positive effects) |
HMO Candidates * are listed: RS, pectin, AX, whole grains, various dietary fibres and other non-carbohydrates such as polyphenols |
| “a substrate that is selectively utilised by host micro-organisms conferring a health benefit” [19] |
(a) microbes targeted by prebiotics should be health-promoting bacteria without specifying which ones (b) effect is no longer limited to the microbial community of the gastrointestinal system associated with humans or animals (c) importance in describing selective bacterial metabolism and assessing microbial function and composition in reproducible randomized controlled studies that establish the direct link between prebiotics and health in the specific target host |
Candidates * are listed: HMO, MOS, and other non-carbohydrates such as polyphenols, CLA, and PUFA |
Abbreviations: ISAPP, international scientific association of probiotics and prebiotics; NB, nota bene; FOS, fructo-oligosaccharides; tGOS, trans-galacto-oligosaccharides; IMO, isomalto-oligosaccharides; SOS, soya-oligosaccharides; XOS, xylo- oligosaccharides; GlOS, gluco-oligosaccharides; HMO, human milk oligosaccharides; RS, resistant starches; AX, arabinoxylans; MOS, mannan-oligosaccharides; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids; CLA, conjugates linoleic acids * The prebiotic potential of candidate compounds has been investigated. However, scientific evidence is too sparse at the time to demonstrate any prebiotic effects.