Abstrakt

New insights on the effects of prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics in the gastrointestinal diseases and cancer.

María Luaces-Regueira, Thiago Pereira, Manuel Campos-Toimil

The gut microbiota is a natural community of microorganisms, among them lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, which maintains a complex and bidirectional interaction with different organs of the host. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that there is a relationship between gut dysbiosis and onset or worsening of different systemic diseases. The scientific advancements have contributed to growing interest on probiotics, which are live microorganisms used as functional food supplementation and that, when consumed in adequate amounts, can improve health and repair several systemic disturbances. Accordingly, there is an increase in the number of studies designed to the understanding of the beneficial effects of kefir, a complex fermented dairy product created through the symbiotic fermentation of milk by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, contained within an exopolysaccharide and protein complex called a kefir grain. Although the benefits of kefir in diverse diseases have been demonstrated since decades ago, most of data demonstrating the beneficial effects of this synbiotic (prebiotic and probiotic) in cancer disease is recent. This review is focused on experimental and clinical studies demonstrating important mechanisms and effects of kefir in cancer processes.