To start a new year of publications, we have decided to focus on a topic that often generates confusion due to the use of terms that are apparently similar but have very different meanings.
In today’s article we will talk about probiotics and prebiotics.

At the end of this article, we will make a recommendation of Active Flora, which contains bacterial strains (Megaflora 9 evo), fibers, Saccharomyces Boulardii and aloe vera for the treatment and maintenance of gastrointestinal health.

What are they?

As we have already commented in previous articles, the eyes of science are resting on our digestive system because the interactions that occur there would affect our entire body.
The main interest is focused on the intestinal microbiota, which, as we have commented in another article, has opened the doors to numerous studies and scientists have called it the “forgotten organ”.
This makes sense if we think that our source of energy enters through our digestive system and it is also through there that we eliminate waste that is not useful to us.

That is why, in recent years, science (and the marketing of large multinational companies) have placed emphasis on pre and probiotics, trying to raise awareness about their use and the benefits they could bring to our health.

According to Cambridge University Press, probiotics are foods that contain live bacteria that are beneficial to health.
Prebiotics are defined as certain indigestible oligosaccharides, that is, they are those that selectively stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria in the colon.
DOI:10.1079/BJN19980108

Why are they important?

To answer this question, we must first know what a functional food is.
According to a report published by the Spanish Federation of Nutrition, Food and Dietetic Societies, functional foods are considered those that, regardless of providing nutrients, have been scientifically proven to beneficially affect one or more functions of the body, so that they provide a better state of health and well-being.

These foods also play a preventive role as they reduce the risk factors that cause the appearance of diseases.

https://www.fesnad.org/resources/files/Publicaciones/guia_alimentos_funcionales.pdf

Prebiotics and probiotics as functional foods

A food can be said to be functional if it contains a component (which may or may not be a nutrient) that affects one or a limited number of functions in the body in a way that is specifically designed to have positive effects on health, or if it has a physiological or psychological effect beyond the traditional nutritional effect.

Prebiotics

A prebiotic is defined as a 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.
The modification by prebiotics of the composition of the colonic microflora leads to the predominance of some of the potentially health-promoting bacteria, especially -but not exclusively- lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.

Prebiotics are specialized plant fibers that stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut

So far, the only prebiotics for which sufficient data have been generated to evaluate their possible classification as functional food ingredients are inulin-type fructans, which include inulin native to some vegetables, enzymatically hydrolyzed inulin or oligofructose, and synthetic fructooligosaccharides.
DOI: 10.1093/jn/137.11.2493E

Inulin and oligofructose are present in significant amounts in various fruits and vegetables.
The average daily intake has been estimated at 3-11 grams in Europe and the most common sources are wheat, onions, bananas, garlic and leeks.
Chicory inulin and oligofructose are officially recognized as natural food ingredients in most European countries.

In addition, inulin-type fructans are used as sugar and fat substitutes, and as a means of providing texture, stabilizing foam, or improving the mouthfeel of various products, such as yogurts, jellies, ice cream, and bakery products such as cookies, breads, and cakes.

Benefits of Prebiotics

Due to the β configuration of anomeric C-2 in its fructose monomers, inulin-like fructans resist digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract.
In addition, there is evidence that they are not absorbed to a significant degree.
Therefore, it has been proposed that they be referred to as colonic food , i.e. a food that enters the colon and serves as a substrate for endogenous bacteria, thus directly providing the host with energy and metabolic substrates.

A high concentration of short-chain carboxylic acids resulting from colonic fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates facilitates colonic absorption of minerals, particularly^Ca2+ and^Mg2+.
In addition, regardless of any mineral binding or sequestration, some indigestible carbohydrates (e.g. inulin-type fructans) can improve the absorption and balance of minerals due to the osmotic effect that transfers water to the large intestine, thus increasing the volume of fluid in which these minerals are found and therefore they can dissolve more easily.

Prebiotics are essential to support our intestinal flora

Data on the effects of inulin-type fructans on cholesterolemia or lipoproteinemia are scarce and, because they are so specific, they are beyond the scope of this article.
To explain a possible effect of inulin-type fructans on the modulation of triacylglycerol metabolism, two effects are proposed.
The first effect is the modification of glucose or insulin concentrations, because the dietary modulation of lipogenesis is often related to such physiological changes.
The second effect is the production in the large intestine of short-chain carboxylic acids, resulting in a more than twofold increase in the portal concentration of acetate and propionate in rats fed oligofructose.
In addition, propionate is known to inhibit fatty acid synthesis, while acetate is a lipogenic substrate.

Probiotics

Probiotics contain viable organisms, which reach the intestine in an active state, where they exert positive effects on health.
They mostly include lactic acid-producing bacteria and yeasts.
Their mechanisms of action are not yet clear, but they probably modulate the permeability of the mucosal membrane and immune system, keeping pathogens away from the surface of the intestinal mucosa.
On the other hand, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria produce substances harmful to Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and compete with pathogens in cell adhesion.

Probiotics contain live organisms, usually specific strains of bacteria that improve the microbiota of our gut

Benefits of Probiotics

One study showed that infants supplemented with a strain of Lactobacillus casei have increased concentrations of circulating immunoglobulin A (IgA), which correlates with a shorter duration of rotavirus-induced diarrhea https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199208000-00002

Lactose intolerance is a problem for ≤ 70% of the world’s population who have a low amount of intestinal β-galactosidase activity and for whom lactose behaves as an indigestible osmotic carbohydrate.
Probiotics have been shown to improve lactose digestion by reducing intolerance symptoms, as well as slowing down orocecal transit. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(93)77514-1

Probiotics are beneficial for fighting and preventing intestinal diseases, such as improving digestion, preventing diarrhea or constipation, preventing intolerances, reducing the risk of colon cancer, among other benefits

Probiotic strains of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria decrease the amount of fecal microbial enzymes such as β-glucuronidase, β-glucosidase, nitroreductase, and urease, which are involved in the metabolic activation of various mutagens and carcinogens.

Rotavirus-induced diarrhea and possibly colon cancer are the only disorders for which there is evidence of disease reduction from probiotic consumption.
For rotavirus diarrhea, different groups of researchers working under a variety of conditions have consistently reported that humans who consumed fermented dairy products with probiotics had a reduction in episodes or a reduction in the risk of disease.
DOI: 10.1007/BF00395941

For colon cancer, the evidence comes exclusively from experimental animals, in which lactobacilli and bifidobacteria were shown to decrease the number of aberrant crypt foci, a marker of risk for cancer development after treatment with a chemical carcinogen. https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/53/17/3914.long

Active flora

Active Flora It is indicated for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders thanks to its composition of bacterial strains of great gastrointestinal survival, as well as other ingredients including Aloe vera, fibers and Saccharomyces Boulardii.

Active Flora contains prebiotics, probiotics and Aloe vera

Two capsules of this product are equivalent to one gram of Active Flora containing Bifidobacterium lactis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus planta rum, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactococus Lacti.
In this way, we have created a synergy between the probiotics that optimizes the results.

Active Flora acts on different levels:

• Level 1: Microbe-microbe interactions.
  Preventing the colonization and overgrowth of potentially pathogenic bacteria.

• Level 2: Microbial interactions with the intestinal epithelium.
  Competing with pathogenic bacteria for adhesion to receptors and protecting barrier function.

• Level 3: Microbe-immune system interactions.
  Bacteria available to stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against pathogenic bacteria.

Conclusion

The development of functional foods for the gut is in its infancy and will only be successful if more thorough research is carried out on digestive physiology, gut microflora, the immune system and mucosal function.

The combination of probiotics and prebiotics in a symbiotic way, as in the case of Active Flora, could beneficially affect the host by improving the survival of healthy gastrointestinal microflora.

Working synergistically, it would selectively stimulate the growth – or activate the catabolism – of a limited number of bacteria in the intestinal tract and improve the microbial balance of the gastrointestinal tract.