Park Inmyoung, Mannaa Mohamed
School of Food and Culinary Arts, Youngsan University, Busan 48015, Republic of Korea.
Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
Foods. 2025 Jun 28;14(13):2292. doi: 10.3390/foods14132292.
Fermented foods represent an intricate ecosystem that delivers live microbes and numerous metabolites, influencing gut health. In this review, we explore how complex microbial communities and metabolites generated during food fermentation modulate the gut microbiome and affect human health. We discuss fermentation-induced biochemical transformations, including enhanced fiber fermentability; nutrient availability; and the synthesis of bioactive metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, exopolysaccharides, bacteriocins, and modified polyphenols. We describe the dynamic microbial ecology of fermented foods, influenced by ingredient variations, highlighting its effect on health-related metabolic outcomes. Fermented products when consumed transiently introduce beneficial microbes and bioactive compounds into the gut, thereby boosting microbial diversity, resilience, and barrier function. We review clinical and preclinical studies to substantiate the roles of fermented foods in immune regulation, metabolic homeostasis, cognitive function, and inflammation mitigation. Individual variability in response to fermented foods has been emphasized, underscoring the potential for personalized nutrition strategies informed by advanced omics technologies. By integrating microbial ecology, metabolomics, and clinical evidence, this review positions fermented food intake as a strategic dietary intervention for microbiome modulation and health promotion.
发酵食品代表了一个复杂的生态系统，它能提供活的微生物和众多代谢产物，对肠道健康产生影响。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了食品发酵过程中产生的复杂微生物群落和代谢产物如何调节肠道微生物群并影响人类健康。我们讨论了发酵诱导的生化转化，包括增强纤维的可发酵性、营养物质的可利用性，以及生物活性代谢产物如短链脂肪酸、胞外多糖、细菌素和修饰多酚的合成。我们描述了受成分变化影响的发酵食品动态微生物生态学，强调了其对与健康相关的代谢结果的影响。食用发酵产品会将有益微生物和生物活性化合物暂时引入肠道，从而增强微生物多样性、恢复力和屏障功能。我们回顾了临床和临床前研究，以证实发酵食品在免疫调节、代谢稳态、认知功能和减轻炎症方面的作用。文中强调了个体对发酵食品反应的变异性，突出了先进组学技术为个性化营养策略提供依据的潜力。通过整合微生物生态学、代谢组学和临床证据，本综述将食用发酵食品定位为一种调节微生物群和促进健康的战略性饮食干预措施。
