There is an ever-increasing appreciation for our gut microbiota that plays a crucial role in the maintenance of health, as well as the development of disease. Probiotics are live bacteria that are consumed to increase the population of beneficial bacteria and prebiotics are dietary substrates intended to promote the propagation of beneficial bacteria. In order to optimize the use of probiotics and prebiotics, a more complete biochemical understanding of the impact that these treatments have on the community and functioning of the gut microbiota is required. Nucleic acid sequencing methods can provide highly detailed information on the composition of the microbial communities but provide less information on the actual function. As bacteria impart much of their influence on the host through the production of metabolites, there is much to be learned by the application of metabolomics. The focus of this review is on the use of metabolomics in the study of probiotic and prebiotic treatments in the context of human clinical trials. Assessment of the current state of this research will help guide the design of future studies to further elucidate the biochemical mechanism by which probiotics and prebiotics function and pave the way toward more personalized applications.

中文翻译：

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代谢组学在益生菌和益生元干预中的应用在人类临床研究中

我们对肠道菌群的赞赏与日俱增，而肠道菌群在维持健康以及疾病的发展中起着至关重要的作用。益生菌是活细菌，被消耗以增加有益细菌的数量，而益生元是膳食底物，旨在促进有益细菌的繁殖。为了优化益生菌和益生元的使用，需要对这些治疗方法对肠道菌群的群落和功能的影响有更完整的生化理解。核酸测序方法可以提供有关微生物群落组成的高度详细的信息，但提供的有关实际功能的信息较少。由于细菌通过代谢产物的产生将大部分影响传递给宿主，代谢组学的应用将学到很多。这篇综述的重点是在人类临床试验中代谢组学在益生菌和益生元治疗研究中的应用。对这项研究现状的评估将有助于指导未来研究的设计，以进一步阐明益生菌和益生元发挥作用的生化机制，并为更个性化的应用铺平道路。