The Role of Prebiotics in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that have beneficial effects on human health. Recently, these ingredients have garnered increasing attention, particularly for their role in feeding beneficial bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, synbiotic (combination of pre- and probiotics) approaches have been studied as therapeutic strategies in several clinical conditions and have shown the potential to improve host health. This chapter provides an overview of how prebiotics and synbiotics can modulate the gut microbiota within the context of disease prevention and the promotion of good health. The chapter also highlights the concerns regarding potential stimulating effect of prebiotics on other harmful bacteria.