Next-Generation Prebiotics and Probiotics: Current Status and Future Development

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Background

Prebiotics and probiotics are widely consumed to maintain health and treat disease all over the world. Although traditional prebiotics and probiotics are easily available in the market, the search for new next-generation prebiotics and probiotics is still urgently needed to enhance their efficacy and health promoting effects. Recently, next-generation prebiotics (for example, mannanoligosaccharide and xylooligosaccharide) and probiotics (for example, Akkermansia muciniphila and butyrate-producing bacteria) have emerged in both the academic literature and industry market. In particular, research into next-generation prebiotics and probiotics has tremendously developed. However, still we are at the very beginning to understand how next-generation prebiotics and probiotics work to promote health. The beneficial mechanisms of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics have not been fully elucidated and extensive studies are crucially warranted. In this light, we introduce this Research Topic to advance our understanding of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics.

This Research Topic aims to contribute to filling the gap in the knowledge about the beneficial mechanisms of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics. Specifically, we would like to advance our understanding in the following areas: 1) how next-generation prebiotics work to promote the growth of beneficial microbes and a healthy microbiota in the gut; 2) what effects next-generation prebiotics and probiotics have on the gut microbiota during treatment of diseases; 3) how next-generation prebiotics and probiotics work to promote intestinal health; 4) new advancements in the development of next-generation prebiotics from natural resources; 5) isolation and characterization of next-generation probiotics from human gut or other resources. We would like to bring the latest findings and discoveries in this research field, and we hope that more detailed investigations would be conducted to develop next-generation prebiotics and probiotics as a new class of functional foods or therapeutic drugs.

Original Research and Review articles to be published in this topic should focus on the following aspects:

• Degradation and utilization of next-generation prebiotics by specific probiotics from the gut microbiota;

• Fermentation characteristics of next-generation prebiotics by the human gut microbiota;

• Discovery and development of next-generation probiotics from human gut, skin or other sources;

• Next-generation prebiotics and probiotics for the treatment of diseases and its effects on human microbiome;

• Nutritional mechanisms of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics;

• Application studies of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics as functional foods or therapeutic drugs;

• Human or animal model studies investigating the safety and efficacy of next-generation prebiotics and probiotics;

• Fermentation characteristics and fermentation products analysis of next-generation probiotics;

• Studies involved in well-defined next-generation probiotics.

This Research Topic aims to collect publications relevant to human nutrition only. Studies on farm animals other than animal models for human nutrition will not be accepted in this Research Topic and will be re-directed to other relevant Frontiers journals.

Keywords: next-generation prebiotics; gut microbiota; next-generation probiotics; butyrate-producing bacteria; oligosaccharides

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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