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Prebiotics, Probiotics, Synbiotics and Foods with Regard to Bone Metabolism

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Book cover Nutritional Influences on Bone Health

Abstract

Prebiotics beneficially affect the host’s health, inter alia the mineral metabolism and bone health in experimental animals and humans. This is due to several factors, including the habitual diet. Differing beneficial effects on bone by specific prebiotics can be explained by their distinctive and characteristic fermentation profile, showing that e.g. a prebiotic mixture containing acacia gum leads to a more harmonized fermentation than oligofructose alone. The reason may be a higher and more consistent yield of energy and nutrients for the gut microbiota. Moreover, it has been shown that the antioxidative potential of prebiotics varies, and that several non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) affect the relative bacterial proportion differently.

Apart from several reported health outcomes probiotics have been shown to support the host’s bone health which seems plausible since microbiota is associated with bone mass. Probiotics target the intestine and its digestive function, immune regulation, and anti-inflammatory defense. The reduced expressions of bone resorbing cytokines after some defined probiotics contribute to alleviate osteoporosis in animal models showing that there exists a link between osteoporosis and inflammation. Inconsistency of in vivo effects under this aspect can be explained by differential innate microbiota and immune status of study participants. Recent investigations have shown that some selected probiotic bacteria are able to reduce osteoclastogenesis and inflammation, and to decrease osteoporosis and periodontitis. Effects of synbiotics on bone health are less frequent. Furthermore, it is more complex to conclude whether synbiotics have positive effects on bone health, because this has to be investigated individually for each synbiotic combination.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moorstuecken 6, Bad Bramstedt, D-24576, Germany

    Katharina E. Scholz-Ahrens

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  1. Katharina E. Scholz-Ahrens
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Correspondence to Katharina E. Scholz-Ahrens .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition and Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

    Connie M. Weaver

  2. Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    Robin M. Daly

  3. Geriatrics and Aging Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari

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Scholz-Ahrens, K.E. (2016). Prebiotics, Probiotics, Synbiotics and Foods with Regard to Bone Metabolism. In: Weaver, C., Daly, R., Bischoff-Ferrari, H. (eds) Nutritional Influences on Bone Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32417-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32417-3_15

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