Probiotics and prebiotics: what they are and what they are for

Stand until a few years ago terms like “prebiotics”, “probiotics” and “postbiotics”, but also the microbiome, were unknown and innovative concepts, today they are less so. In fact, the use of “good” bacteria for health is a fact, so much so that they are taken thanks to food supplements that help keep their levels high in the body, especially for the perfect function of the intestine. But not only. In fact, probiotics and prebiotics have also become skin ingredientsprotagonists of a more specific, almost made-to-measure cosmetics, precisely because it acts on these microorganisms that form the microbiome.

Probiotics and prebiotics: what are they?

Let’s start first of all from the definitions: «The international ones, currently in use, define i probiotics as live microorganisms that confer a benefit to human health when they are administered in adequate quantities. In other words, they are good bacteria that already live inside the body and can also be integrated from the outside» explains the Dr. Giovanni Marasco, Gastroenterologist and Medical Director at IRCCS S. Orsola, BolognaSchwabe Pharma Italia scientific coordinator and researcher at the University of Bologna.

Different instead i prebiotics«these are food substances that are not digested by humans and therefore are fermented at the level of the digestive tract leading to health benefits of the individual, influencing the gastrointestinal microbiota» explains the expert.

A combination of prebiotics and postbiotics creates i symbiotic while I postbiotics they are products that are released by bacteria during the fermentation processes of some foods such as milk, capable of conferring a benefit on human health.

Probiotics and prebiotics, what are they for?

Definitions aside, these microorganisms perform fundamental functions. THE probiotics have multisystem effects «consisting of resistance to pathogen colonization and normalization of microbiota perturbations, but they also help, for example, the synthesis of vitamins. For these functions, probiotics are a lot used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseasesfor example, they are widely used in the presence of irritable bowel because they help reduce abdominal pain».

THE prebiotics instead they perform an action dependent on probiotics because they can «significantly modify the composition and function of the intestinal microbiota, representing the substrate for their survival energy; as a result, the effects of prebiotics are closely related to those of probiotics.

Foods, drinks and supplements, where to find probiotics and prebiotics

Both are featured in foods, drinks but also in food supplements. Probiotics are mostly found in fermented ones like lo yogurt and pickles, but also in dairy products or miso. They are also found in kefir, a Middle Eastern drink made from fermented milk, or in kombucha, a particular fermented tea.

THE prebioticson the other hand, are already naturally present in some foods: for example, they are found within cereals, chocolate and spreads, in some biscuits and dairy products. The prebiotic oligofructose, for example, is among the most common prebiotics and occurs naturally in bananas, honey, onions and garlic.

The peculiarity of these organisms is that they are a healthy addition to any diet: «Carrying out a beneficial action on the body, it is permitted by current Italian legislation, which allows their use for the “physiological” effect aimed at promoting the balance of the intestinal flora, provided that the product in use guarantees an adequate colonization of live probiotic cells in the intestine» explains the expert. There are some side effects? “The most common ones are a temporary buildup of gasbloating, constipation and thirst».

How do they work in cosmetics?

Probiotics and prebiotics have become cosmetic ingredients because there is a link between the epidermis and intestinal health: “Also there skin hosts a commensal microbiota which can influence the different pathological manifestations. Topical application of probiotic bacteria can help strengthen the skin’s natural barrierpromote the skin’s immune response and help eliminate pathogens ».

For this reason, i topical probiotics are used for some inflammatory problems of the epidermissuch as acne, rosacea, psoriasis, as well as stimulating the natural epidermal microbiome so as to ensure its maintenance and protection.

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