Potential Use of Marine Seaweeds as Prebiotics: A Review.

Human gut microbiota plays an important role in several metabolic processes and human diseases. Various dietary factors, including complex carbohydrates, such as polysaccharides, provide abundant nutrients and substrates for microbial metabolism in the gut, affecting the members and their functionality. Nowadays, the main sources of complex carbohydrates destined for human consumption are terrestrial plants. However, fresh water is an increasingly scarce commodity and world agricultural productivity is in a persistent decline, thus demanding the exploration of other sources of complex carbohydrates. As an interesting option, marine seaweeds show rapid growth and do not require arable land, fresh water or fertilizers. The present review offers an objective perspective of the current knowledge surrounding the impacts of seaweeds and their derived polysaccharides on the human microbiome and the profound need for more in-depth investigations into this topic. Animal experiments and in vitro colonic-simulating trials investigating the effects of seaweed ingestion on human gut microbiota are discussed.

Effects of Unconventional Work and Shift Work on the Human Gut Microbiota and the Potential of Probiotics to Restore Dysbiosis.

The work environment is a factor that can significantly influence the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota of workers, in many cases leading to gut dysbiosis that will result in serious health problems. The aim of this paper was to provide a compilation of the different studies that have examined the influence of jobs with unconventional work schedules and environments on the gut microbiota of workers performing such work. As a possible solution, probiotic supplements, via modulation of the gut microbiota, can moderate the effects of sleep disturbance on the immune system, as well as restore the dysbiosis produced. Rotating shift work has been found to be associated with an increase in the risk of various metabolic diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Sleep disturbance or lack of sleep due to night work is also associated with metabolic diseases. In addition, sleep disturbance induces a stress response, both physiologically and psychologically, and disrupts the healthy functioning of the gut microbiota, thus triggering an inflammatory state. Other workers, including military, healthcare, or metallurgy workers, as well as livestock farmers or long-travel seamen, work in environments and schedules that can significantly affect their gut microbiota.

A2 Milk: New Perspectives for Food Technology and Human Health.

Although milk consumption is increasing worldwide, in some geographical regions, its consumption has persistently declined in recent decades. This fact, together with the increase in milk production prices, has caused both milk producers and the dairy industry to be immersed in a major crisis. Some possible solutions to this problem are to get people who do not currently consume milk to start drinking it again, or to market milk and dairy products with a higher added value. In this context, a type of milk called A2 has recently received attention from the industry. This type of milk, characterized by a difference in an amino acid at position 67 of the ß-casein polypeptide chain, releases much smaller amounts of bioactive opioid peptide ß-casomorphin 7 upon digestion, which has been linked to harmful effects on human health. Additionally, A2 milk has been attributed worse technological properties in the production of some dairy products. Thus, doubts exist about the convenience for the dairy industry to bet on this product. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the effects on human health of A2 milk, as well as its different technological properties to produce dairy products.

Probiotics as a Possible Strategy for the Prevention and Treatment of Allergies. A Narrative Review.

Allergies are an increasing global public health concern, especially for children and people living in urban environments. Allergies impair the quality of life of those who suffer from them, and for this reason, alternatives for the treatment of allergic diseases or reduction in their symptoms are being sought. The main objective of this study was to compile the studies carried out on probiotics as a possible therapy for allergies. The most studied allergies on which probiotics have been shown to have a beneficial effect are rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Most studies have studied the administration of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. in children and have shown beneficial effects, such as a reduction in hyperreactivity and inflammation caused by allergens and a decrease in cytokine release, among other beneficial effects. In the case of children, no clear beneficial effects were found in several studies, and the potential risk from the use of some opportunistic bacteria, such as probiotics, seems controversial. In the studies that reported beneficial results, these effects were found to make allergy symptoms less aggressive, thus reducing morbidity in allergy sufferers. The different effects of the same probiotic bacteria on different patients seem to reinforce the idea that the efficacy of probiotics is dependent on the microbial species or strain, its derived metabolites and byproducts, and the gut microbiota eubiosis of the patient. This study is relevant in the context of allergic diseases, as it provides a broader understanding of new alternatives for the treatment of allergies, both in children, who are the main sufferers, and adults, showing that probiotics, in some cases, reduce the symptoms and severity of such diseases.

Animal-Origin Prebiotics Based on Chitin: An Alternative for the Future? A Critical Review.

The human gut microbiota has been revealed in recent years as a factor that plays a decisive role in the maintenance of human health, as well as in the development of many non-communicable diseases. This microbiota can be modulated by various dietary factors, among which complex carbohydrates have a great influence. Although most complex carbohydrates included in the human diet come from vegetables, there are also options to include complex carbohydrates from non-vegetable sources, such as chitin and its derivatives. Chitin, and its derivatives such as chitosan can be obtained from non-vegetable sources, the best being insects, crustacean exoskeletons and fungi. The present review offers a broad perspective of the current knowledge surrounding the impacts of chitin and its derived polysaccharides on the human gut microbiota and the profound need for more in-depth investigations into this topic. Overall, the effects of whole insects or meal on the gut microbiota have contradictory results, possibly due to their high protein content. Better results are obtained for the case of chitin derivatives, regarding both metabolic effects and effects on the gut microbiota composition.