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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Nutritional Immunology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1464622
This article is part of the Research Topic Efficacy of probiotic-enriched foods on digestive health and overall well-being View all articles

Awareness, knowledge, and beliefs about probiotics and prebiotics among Saudi adults: A cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Areej A. Alkhaldy Areej A. Alkhaldy *
  • King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Probiotics and Prebiotics are essential for supporting both overall health and gastrointestinal health. However, the perception of these dietary components among the general public in Saudi Arabia is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate public awareness, knowledge, and beliefs regarding prebiotics and probiotics across Saudi Arabia.Our cross-sectional study included 1,306 participants aged 18 years and above. Data were collected in Saudi Arabia between May and July 2023 using a self-administered online questionnaire via convenience sampling.Results: A high level of awareness was self-reported by only 21.9% of participants, whereas more than half (51.8%) of participants rated their level of awareness as low. Overall, 37.5% of participants displayed a high level of knowledge about probiotics and prebiotics, whereas 15.5% had a low level of knowledge. The majority of participants believed in the beneficial effects of probiotics and prebiotics on overall digestion/gut health (84.1%) and supporting the immune system (72.5%). However, less than half of participants believed in their beneficial effects on overweight/obesity (42.3%), stress management (35%), mental health/stress (29.2%), and heart health (28.7%).The obtained findings indicate sufficient levels of knowledge about prebiotics and probiotics among a population sample of Saudi adults. However, enhanced educational efforts and optimized strategies for promoting a comprehensive awareness and understanding of probiotics and prebiotics are recommended.

    Keywords: Probiotics, Prebiotics, knowledge, Awareness, beliefs

    Received: 14 Jul 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Alkhaldy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Areej A. Alkhaldy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.