de Jesus Raposo Maria Filomena, de Morais Alcina Maria Miranda Bernardo, de Morais Rui Manuel Santos Costa
CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal.
Mar Drugs. 2016 Jan 28;14(2):27. doi: 10.3390/md14020027.
In recent years, scientists have become aware that human microbiota, in general, and gut microbiota, in particular, play a major role in human health and diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, among others. A large number of evidence has come to light regarding the beneficial effects, either for the host or the gut microbiota, of some foods and food ingredients or biochemical compounds. Among these, the most promising seem to be polysaccharides (PS) or their derivatives, and they include the dietary fibers. Some of these PS can be found in seaweeds and microalgae, some being soluble fibers, such as alginates, fucoidans, carrageenans and exopolysaccharides, that are not fermented, at least not completely, by colonic microbiota. This review gives an overview of the importance of the dietary fibers, as well as the benefits of prebiotics, to human health. The potential of the PS from marine macro- and microalgae to act as prebiotics is discussed, and the different techniques to obtain oligosaccharides from PS are presented. The mechanisms of the benefits of fiber, in general, and the types and benefits of algal fibers in human health are highlighted. The findings of some recent studies that present the potential effects of prebiotics on animal models of algal biomass and their extracts, as well as oligo- and polysaccharides, are presented. In the future, the possibility of using prebiotics to modulate the microbiome, and, consequently, prevent certain human diseases is foreseen.
近年来，科学家们已经意识到，一般而言，人类微生物群，尤其是肠道微生物群，在人类健康和疾病（如肥胖症和糖尿病等）中发挥着重要作用。大量证据表明，某些食物、食物成分或生化化合物对宿主或肠道微生物群具有有益影响。其中，最有前景的似乎是多糖（PS）或其衍生物，包括膳食纤维。这些PS中的一些可以在海藻和微藻中找到，有些是可溶性纤维，如藻酸盐、岩藻聚糖、卡拉胶和胞外多糖，它们至少不会被结肠微生物群完全发酵。本文综述了膳食纤维以及益生元对人类健康的重要性。讨论了海洋大型和微型藻类中的PS作为益生元的潜力，并介绍了从PS中获得低聚糖的不同技术。强调了一般纤维的益处机制以及藻类纤维在人类健康中的类型和益处。介绍了一些近期研究的结果，这些研究展示了益生元对藻类生物质及其提取物以及寡糖和多糖的动物模型的潜在影响。未来，可以预见利用益生元调节微生物群从而预防某些人类疾病的可能性。
