Experts propose key criteria to classify prebiotics (Oct 2024) Classifying compounds as prebiotics — scientific perspectives and recommendations Prebiotics 

Michael Harrop

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Our hope is that scientists around the world take a unified approach to demonstrating the prebiotic status of an ingredient, which will promote clarity and support informed decision-making around prebiotic products

Abstract​

Microbiomes provide key contributions to health and potentially important therapeutic targets. Conceived nearly 30 years ago, the prebiotic concept posits that targeted modulation of host microbial communities through the provision of selectively utilized growth substrates provides an effective approach to improving health.

Although the basic tenets of this concept remain the same, it is timely to address certain challenges pertaining to prebiotics, including establishing that prebiotic-induced microbiota modulation causes the health outcome, determining which members within a complex microbial community directly utilize specific substrates in vivo and when those microbial effects sufficiently satisfy selectivity requirements, and clarification of the scientific principles on which the term ‘prebiotic’ is predicated to inspire proper use.

In this Expert Recommendation, we provide a framework for the classification of compounds as prebiotics. We discuss ecological principles by which substrates modulate microbiomes and methodologies useful for characterizing such changes. We then propose statistical approaches that can be used to establish causal links between selective effects on the microbiome and health effects on the host, which can help address existing challenges. We use this information to provide the minimum criteria needed to classify compounds as prebiotics. Furthermore, communications to consumers and regulatory approaches to prebiotics worldwide are discussed.

Key points​

  • Definition of prebiotic confirmed as “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit”.
  • Key criteria for prebiotics: defined structure and composition; selectively utilized by host microbiota as measured by microbiome modulation (composition and/or function); mechanistic hypothesis for how the health benefit might be derived from observed microbiome modulation; health benefit and microbiome modulation concomitantly measured; and safe.
  • At least one study in the target host demonstrating both selective utilization by the microbiome and a health benefit is needed to provide correlative evidence for microbiome-mediated health benefits.
  • Confidence that microbiome modulation is causally related to the health benefit can be increased with robust statistical analysis informed by, for example, model systems (in vitro and animal), machine learning and artificial intelligence.
  • A clear definition that reinforces these key scientific characteristics provides an important foundation for understanding what prebiotics are and, importantly, what they are not.
  • Adherence by all stakeholders to these criteria would benefit the prebiotic field by providing cohesion in prebiotic research, principles to underpin regulatory actions and clarity for consumers.
 
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