Probiotics: Mediators in Health and Disease

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Probiotic Strains and Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 9768

Special Issue Editor

Applied Mycology Lab, Department of Studies in Microbiology, University of Mysore, Mysuru, India
Interests: probiotics and gut microbiota; probiotics and postbiotics for human gut health; probiotics and postbiotics in therapeutic agents; postbiotics in food matrices; postbiotics on health benefits; probiotics for food safety

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Probiotics have been gaining more importance therapeutically over the years with the increasing scientific knowledge. Potential probiotic organisms are non-pathogenic and are generally recognized as safe. Consumption of probiotics is associated with health benefits, including stimulation of the immune system, exclusion and antagonism for defence against diarrheal diseases and nosocomial and respiratory tract infections, reductions in serum cholesterol, attenuation of overt immune-inflammatory disorders and anticancer effects. Understanding their association with intestinal health and immunity can improve the overall well-being of animals and humans. Commercial pharmaceutical and food-based products have been used in the application of live probiotic cells and their derived postbiotics. A large part of the molecular mechanism of probiotics has been proved to be due to their derived postbiotics. Postbiotics with unique features in their pure form and high performance can be applied as potential alternative agents for probiotics and common antibiotics in the food and drug industries for food safety and health effects. They can also be applied in veterinary, medical and food practice to improve animal growth rates and health status to treat chronic or acute diseases.

The goal of this Special Issue is to publish both recent innovative research results and review papers on the application of probiotics and their postbiotics to improve health and to treat and prevent a wide variety of illnesses, including gastrointestinal and other diseases. Review and research papers on the development of functional foods, potential probiotics and novel postbiotics are also of interest. If you would like to contribute a review paper, please contact one of the editors to discuss the topic’s relevance before submitting the manuscript.

Prof. Dr. Marikunte Yanjarappa Sreenivasa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • probiotics
  • postbiotics
  • therapeutic agents
  • gut microbiota
  • health and disease

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4478 KiB  
Article
Effect of a Multi-Strain Probiotic on Growth Performance, Lipid Panel, Antioxidant Profile, and Immune Response in Andaman Local Piglets at Weaning
by Gopal Sarkar, Samiran Mondal, Debasis Bhattacharya, Perumal Ponraj, Sneha Sawhney, Prokasananda Bala, Dibyendu Chakraborty, Jai Sunder and Arun Kumar De
Fermentation 2023, 9(11), 970; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9110970 - 13 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1274
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the role of a multi-strain probiotic compound containing Bacillus mesentericus, Bacillus coagulans, Enterococcus faecalis, and Clostridium butyricum as an in-feed zinc oxide (ZnO) alternative in growth performance, diarrhea incidence, antioxidant profile, lipid panel, stress, and immunity in [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the role of a multi-strain probiotic compound containing Bacillus mesentericus, Bacillus coagulans, Enterococcus faecalis, and Clostridium butyricum as an in-feed zinc oxide (ZnO) alternative in growth performance, diarrhea incidence, antioxidant profile, lipid panel, stress, and immunity in piglets at weaning. Seventy-two piglets weaned at 27 ± 1 day were divided randomly into three groups with four replicates of six piglets each: (i) a negative control group (WC) fed only a basal diet, (ii) a probiotic group (WB) fed a basal diet with the current probiotic formulation, and (iii) a positive control (PC) group fed a basal diet with 2500 mg/kg ZnO. The experiment was conducted for 28 days. Probiotic supplementation showed a positive effect on growth performance and reduced the diarrhea rate. The mean body weight of the piglets in the WB and PC groups was significantly higher than that of piglets in the WC group (14.88 ± 0.12, 14.97 ± 0.13 vs. 13.80 ± 0.06 kg; p ≤ 0.001). The addition of probiotic to the diet improved the lipid panel; the WB group showed a significantly higher level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) (32.67 ± 0.85 in WB vs. 12.48 ± 0.76 in WC; p ≤ 0.001) and lower levels of total cholesterol (mg/dL) (59.78 ± 1.97 in WB vs. 119.11 ± 2.12 in WC; p ≤ 0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) (17.90 ± 1.12 in WB vs. 69.10 ± 3.37 in WC; p ≤ 0.001) compared with the negative control group. Moreover, probiotic supplementation enhanced the antioxidant defense system and provided protection from oxidative damage by increasing the concentrations of serum catalase, glutathione-S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase and by decreasing the concentrations of serum malonyldialdehyde and total nitric oxide. Heat shock proteins and other stress markers, such as serum cortisol, were reduced in the probiotic-fed group. The probiotic group also displayed higher levels of serum IgG and IgM at all time points and higher IgA on day 28 compared with the negative control group. Altogether, these results indicate that feeding with the currently used multi-strain probiotic formulation minimizes weaning stress, thereby improving the growth performance, antioxidant profile, lipid panel, and systemic and mucosal immunity. Therefore, multi-strain probiotic compounds may be used to replace ZnO in weaned piglets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics: Mediators in Health and Disease)
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13 pages, 1668 KiB  
Article
Metagenomic and Meta-Transcriptomic Analysis Reveal the Colonization and Expression Profile of Probiotic Strains in Humans and Animals
by Yunjuan Peng, Routing Chen, Zhihao Zhang, Rui Jin, Ting Xie, Xinting Liu, Jianmin Chai, Samantha Howe, Jiangchao Zhao, Ying Li and Feilong Deng
Fermentation 2023, 9(5), 417; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9050417 - 26 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1527
Abstract
In humans and animals, probiotics are widely accepted as crucial for host health and growth. The investigation of the probiotic colonization and expression of probiotics in the host is beneficial for proper usage of probiotics and isolation of indigenous probiotics. In this study, [...] Read more.
In humans and animals, probiotics are widely accepted as crucial for host health and growth. The investigation of the probiotic colonization and expression of probiotics in the host is beneficial for proper usage of probiotics and isolation of indigenous probiotics. In this study, we analyzed commonly used probiotic strains in the intestines/rumen of humans and animals by analyzing metagenomic and paired meta-transcriptomic data from the gut or rumen microbiome of humans (n = 13), pigs (n = 6), chickens (n = 6), cattle (n = 14), sheep (n = 10), and mice (n = 8). First, we generated an expression profile based on 192 selected representative probiotic strains from a published database. A total of 58 probiotic strains were not detected in any samples, while 3 strains were presented and expressed in all individuals. Overall, the probiotic expression of probiotics as detected by meta-transcriptome was significantly higher than the relative abundance of probiotic as detected by metagenomics in cattle, sheep, mice, and humans; however, this difference was not significant in pigs and chickens. In total, 17 (cattle), 21 (sheep), 22 (pig), 14 (chicken), 13 (mouse), and 3 (human) probiotic strains were identified as probiotic strains with significantly higher expression levels [Fold Change (FC) ≥ 2, False Discovery Rate (FDR) ≤ 0.05]. Among them, Clostridium butyricum TOA was found to be significantly expressed in the rumen or gut of all host species. In addition, network analysis based on the expression of probiotics as detected by meta-transcriptomics revealed that several probiotic strains were significantly negatively linked with Salmonella spp., Mycoplasma spp., and Escherichia coli. The results in this study provide a useful reference for developing indigenous probiotics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics: Mediators in Health and Disease)
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Review

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11 pages, 544 KiB  
Review
Scientific and Pharmaceutical Aspects of Christensenella minuta, a Promising Next-Generation Probiotic
by Ágota Pető, Dóra Kósa, Zoltán Szilvássy, Pálma Fehér, Zoltán Ujhelyi, Gabriella Kovács, István Német, István Pócsi and Ildikó Bácskay
Fermentation 2023, 9(8), 767; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9080767 - 17 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1330
Abstract
Christensenella minuta (C. minuta), a member of a recently described bacterial family, is one of the most heritable next-generation probiotics. Many observational studies confirmed that the relative abundance of C. minuta is associated with lean body types with a low host [...] Read more.
Christensenella minuta (C. minuta), a member of a recently described bacterial family, is one of the most heritable next-generation probiotics. Many observational studies confirmed that the relative abundance of C. minuta is associated with lean body types with a low host body mass index (BMI), and is also influenced by age, diet, and genetics. By utilizing its benefits, it could be suited to many therapies, including human and animal health as well. However, a reliable method for culturing the strain must also be developed to enable the therapeutic administration of the microbe. Sludge microfiltration could be a promising solution for large scale-up cultivation. In this review, different processing methods are also described from pharmaceutical aspects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics: Mediators in Health and Disease)
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13 pages, 713 KiB  
Review
Limosilactobacillus reuteri Regulating Intestinal Function: A Review
by Jiayan Jiang, Ke Li, Yu Xiao, Aiai Zhong, Jiaojiao Tang, Yufan Duan and Zongjun Li
Fermentation 2023, 9(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9010019 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5140
Abstract
Probiotics have extensive use in daily life, due to the function of the changing intestinal metabolism and material conversion processes, wherein they remodel the intestinal microbiota, regulate the intestinal function and affect the organism’s health. Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), originally discovered [...] Read more.
Probiotics have extensive use in daily life, due to the function of the changing intestinal metabolism and material conversion processes, wherein they remodel the intestinal microbiota, regulate the intestinal function and affect the organism’s health. Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), originally discovered in breast milk and currently reported to be present within the gut of almost all vertebrates and mammals, is an intestinal probiotic with prebiotic efficacy. Most L. reuteri have good intestinal colonization and bacteriocin secretion abilities, which can increase the expression of the mucin (mucoprotein) genes 2 MUC2 and MUC13, which in turn promote the development and maturation of intestinal organoids, and augment mucin secretion. In enteritis patients, L. reuteri downregulates α Tumor necrosis factor-α, (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, and IL-12 expression to attenuate inflammation. It also induces the host’s production of immunoglobulin A (IGA), which manipulates the intestinal microbial community, inhibiting the growth of pathogens. L. reuteri has been widely used in daily life. with in-depth studies having been conducted on the prebiotic effects of L. reuteri. However, the complexity of its application in a clinical setting is still unclear because the pathogenesis of various diseases still requires a large amount of data and theoretical support. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics: Mediators in Health and Disease)
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