Tsai Ying-Chieh, Cheng Li-Hao, Liu Yen-Wenn, Jeng One-Jang, Lee Yuan-Kun
Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
Bened Biomedical Co., Ltd., Taipei 10448, Taiwan.
Biosci Microbiota Food Health. 2021;40(1):1-11. doi: 10.12938/bmfh.2020-026. Epub 2020 Oct 2.
Aging is recognized as a common risk factor for many chronic diseases and functional decline. The newly emerging field of geroscience is an interdisciplinary field that aims to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging. Several fundamental biological processes have been proposed as hallmarks of aging. The proposition of the geroscience hypothesis is that targeting holistically these highly integrated hallmarks could be an effective approach to preventing the pathogenesis of age-related diseases jointly, thereby improving the health span of most individuals. There is a growing awareness concerning the benefits of the prophylactic use of probiotics in maintaining health and improving quality of life in the elderly population. In view of the rapid progress in geroscience research, a new emphasis on geroscience-based probiotics is in high demand, and such probiotics require extensive preclinical and clinical research to support their functional efficacy. Here we propose a new term, "gerobiotics", to define those probiotic strains and their derived postbiotics and para-probiotics that are able to beneficially attenuate the fundamental mechanisms of aging, reduce physiological aging processes, and thereby expand the health span of the host. We provide a thorough discussion of why the coining of a new term is warranted instead of just referring to these probiotics as anti-aging probiotics or with other similar terms. In this review, we highlight the needs and importance of the new field of gerobiotics, past and currently on-going research and development in the field, biomarkers for potential targets, and recommended steps for the development of gerobiotic products. Use of gerobiotics could be a promising intervention strategy to improve health span and longevity of humans in the future.
衰老被认为是许多慢性疾病和功能衰退的常见风险因素。新兴的老年科学领域是一个跨学科领域，旨在了解衰老的分子和细胞机制。已经提出了几个基本的生物学过程作为衰老的标志。老年科学假说的提出是，全面针对这些高度整合的标志可能是一种有效方法，可共同预防与年龄相关疾病的发病机制，从而延长大多数人的健康寿命。人们越来越意识到预防性使用益生菌对维持老年人健康和改善生活质量的益处。鉴于老年科学研究的迅速进展，对基于老年科学的益生菌有了新的高度需求，而这种益生菌需要广泛的临床前和临床研究来支持其功能功效。在此，我们提出一个新术语“老年益生菌”，来定义那些能够有益地减轻衰老基本机制、减少生理衰老过程，从而延长宿主健康寿命的益生菌菌株及其衍生的后生元和副益生菌。我们深入讨论了为何有必要创造一个新术语，而不是仅仅将这些益生菌称为抗衰老益生菌或其他类似术语。在本综述中，我们强调了老年益生菌新领域的需求和重要性、该领域过去和当前正在进行的研发、潜在靶点的生物标志物以及老年益生菌产品开发的推荐步骤。使用老年益生菌可能是未来改善人类健康寿命和延长寿命的一种有前景的干预策略。
