Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland.
Int J Food Microbiol. 2012 Jan 16;152(3):189-205. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.05.025. Epub 2011 Jun 14.
The mechanisms by which intestinal bacteria achieve their associated health benefits can be complex and multifaceted. In this respect, the diverse microbial composition of the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) provides an almost unlimited potential source of bioactive substances (pharmabiotics) which can directly or indirectly affect human health. Bacteriocins and fatty acids are just two examples of pharmabiotic substances which may contribute to probiotic functionality within the mammalian GIT. Bacteriocin production is believed to confer producing strains with a competitive advantage within complex microbial environments as a consequence of their associated antimicrobial activity. This has the potential to enable the establishment and prevalence of producing strains as well as directly inhibiting pathogens within the GIT. Consequently, these antimicrobial peptides and the associated intestinal producing strains may be exploited to beneficially influence microbial populations. Intestinal bacteria are also known to produce a diverse array of health-promoting fatty acids. Indeed, certain strains of intestinal bifidobacteria have been shown to produce conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid which has been associated with a variety of systemic health-promoting effects. Recently, the ability to modulate the fatty acid composition of the liver and adipose tissue of the host upon oral administration of CLA-producing bifidobacteria and lactobacilli was demonstrated in a murine model. Importantly, this implies a potential therapeutic role for probiotics in the treatment of certain metabolic and immunoinflammatory disorders. Such examples serve to highlight the potential contribution of pharmabiotic production to probiotic functionality in relation to human health maintenance.
肠道细菌实现其相关健康益处的机制可能是复杂和多方面的。在这方面，人类胃肠道 (GIT) 的多样化微生物组成提供了几乎无限的潜在生物活性物质 (pharmabiotics) 来源，这些物质可以直接或间接地影响人类健康。细菌素和脂肪酸只是两种可能有助于哺乳动物 GIT 中益生菌功能的 pharmabiotic 物质的例子。细菌素的产生被认为赋予了产生菌株在复杂微生物环境中的竞争优势，因为它们具有相关的抗菌活性。这有可能使产生菌株得以建立和流行，并直接抑制 GIT 中的病原体。因此，这些抗菌肽和相关的肠道产生菌株可能被利用来有益地影响微生物群体。肠道细菌也被认为产生多种促进健康的脂肪酸。事实上，某些肠道双歧杆菌菌株已被证明能产生共轭亚油酸 (CLA)，这种脂肪酸与多种全身促进健康的作用有关。最近，在小鼠模型中证明了口服产生 CLA 的双歧杆菌和乳杆菌能够调节宿主肝脏和脂肪组织的脂肪酸组成。重要的是，这意味着益生菌在治疗某些代谢和免疫炎症性疾病方面具有潜在的治疗作用。这些例子突出了 pharmabiotic 生产对益生菌功能与人类健康维护的潜在贡献。
