An In Vitro Approach to Study Effects of Prebiotics and Probiotics on the Faecal Microbiota and Selected Immune Parameters Relevant to the Elderly

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 9; p. e0162604
• Main Authors: Liu, Yue, Gibson, Glenn R, Walton, Gemma E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 09.09.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Aging; Aging (artificial); B cells; Bacillus coagulans; Bacillus coagulans - drug effects; Bacillus coagulans - physiology; Bacteria; Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron - drug effects; Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron - physiology; Batch culture; Bifidobacterium bifidum; Bifidobacterium bifidum - drug effects; Bifidobacterium bifidum - physiology; Biodiversity; Biology and Life Sciences; Carbohydrates; Cell culture; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Comparative analysis; Cynara scolymus; Cytokines; Cytometry; Diet; Fatty acids; Feces - microbiology; Fermentation; Fermenters; Flow cytometry; Food; Galactooligosaccharides; Geriatrics; Health risks; Humans; Immune response; Immune system; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Inflammation; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 8; Interleukin-10 - metabolism; Interleukin-6 - metabolism; Interleukin-8 - metabolism; Intestinal microflora; Inulin; Lactobacillus acidophilus; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - cytology; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - drug effects; Lipopolysaccharides; Markers; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microbiota - drug effects; Microorganisms; Middle Aged; Nutrition research; Older people; People and Places; Peripheral blood; Permeability; Population; Prebiotics; Prebiotics - microbiology; Probiotics; Probiotics - pharmacology; Research and Analysis Methods; Salmonella typhimurium - drug effects; Salmonella typhimurium - physiology; TNF inhibitors; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumor necrosis factor-α
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162604

The aging process leads to alterations of gut microbiota and modifications to the immune response, such changes may be associated with increased disease risk. Prebiotics and probiotics can modulate microbiome changes induced by aging; however, their effects have not been directly compared. The aim of this study was to use anaerobic batch culture fermenters to assess the impact of various fermentable carbohydrates and microorganisms on the gut microbiota and selected immune markers. Elderly volunteers were used as donors for these experiments to enable relevance to an aging population. The impact of fermentation supernatants on immune markers relevant to the elderly were assessed in vitro. Levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α in peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture supernatants were measured using flow cytometry. Trans-galactooligosaccharides (B-GOS) and inulin both stimulated bifidobacteria compared to other treatments (p<0.05). Fermentation supernatants taken from faecal batch cultures supplemented with B-GOS, inulin, B. bifidum, L. acidophilus and Ba. coagulans inhibited LPS induced TNF-α (p<0.05). IL-10 production, induced by LPS, was enhanced by fermentation supernatants from faecal batch cultures supplemented with B-GOS, inulin, B. bifidum, L. acidophilus, Ba. coagulans and Bac. thetaiotaomicron (p<0.05). To conclude, prebiotics and probiotics could lead to potentially beneficial effects to host health by targeting specific bacterial groups, increasing saccharolytic fermentation and decreasing inflammation associated with aging. Compared to probiotics, prebiotics led to greater microbiota modulation at the genus level within the fermenters.