How do probiotics and prebiotics function at distant sites?

Authors

G. Reid, Lawson Health Research Institute
T. Abrahamsson, Linköpings universitet
M. Bailey, The Ohio State University
L. B. Bindels, Université Catholique de Louvain
R. Bubnov, Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
K. Ganguli, Massachusetts General Hospital
C. Martoni, UAS Laboratories
C. O'Neill, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
H. M. Savignac, Clasado BioSciences
C. Stanton, APC Microbiome Ireland
N. Ship, Bio-K+ International Inc.
M. Surette, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute
K. Tuohy, Istituto Agrario San Michele all'Adige
S. van Hemert, Winclove Probiotics BV

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Journal

Beneficial Microbes

Volume

8

Issue

4

First Page

521

Last Page

533

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.3920/BM2016.0222

Abstract

The realisation that microbes regarded as beneficial to the host can impart effects at sites distant from their habitat, has raised many possibilities for treatment of diseases. The objective of a workshop hosted in Turku, Finland, by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, was to assess the evidence for these effects and the extent to which early life microbiome programming influences how the gut microbiota communicates with distant sites. In addition, we examined how probiotics and prebiotics might affect the skin, airways, heart, brain and metabolism. The growing levels of scientific and clinical evidence showing how microbes influence the physiology of many body sites, leads us to call for more funding to advance a potentially exciting avenue for novel therapies for many chronic diseases.