Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy.
Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, NICU, 20122 Milan, Italy.
Nutrients. 2021 Feb 27;13(3):781. doi: 10.3390/nu13030781.
It is now well known how the microbiota can positively or negatively influence humans health, depending on its composition. The microbiota's countless beneficial effects have allowed it to be defined as a genuine symbiont for our species. In an attempt to positively influence the microbiota, research has focused on probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are viable beneficial bacteria of various strains. Prebiotics are specific substances able to favor the development of advantageous bacteria strains. Postbiotics are a new category of compounds capable of affecting the microbiota. According to the different definitions, postbiotics include both nonviable bacteria and substances deriving from bacterial metabolism. Postbiotics are particularly promising in pediatric settings, as they offer some advantages over probiotics, including the absence of the risk of intestinal translocation or worsening of local inflammation. For these reasons, their use in fragile population categories such as newborns, and even more prematures, seems to be the best solution for improving microbiota's health in this population. This narrative review aims to collect the research conducted so far on postbiotics' potential in the first stages of life.
现在人们已经充分认识到，根据其组成，微生物组可以对人类健康产生积极或消极的影响。微生物组具有无数有益的作用，因此被定义为我们物种的真正共生体。为了积极影响微生物组，研究集中在益生菌和益生元上。益生菌是各种菌株的活菌有益细菌。益生元是能够促进有益细菌菌株生长的特定物质。后生元是一类能够影响微生物组的新型化合物。根据不同的定义，后生元包括非活菌和细菌代谢产物。后生元在儿科领域具有很大的应用前景，因为它们比益生菌具有一些优势，包括不存在肠道易位或局部炎症恶化的风险。出于这些原因，在后生元在脆弱人群（如新生儿，甚至早产儿）中的使用似乎是改善该人群微生物组健康的最佳选择。本综述旨在收集迄今为止在生命早期阶段后生元潜在应用的研究。
