Novel probiotics and postbiotics from gut microbiota of Chinese young adults

The microbiota of the human body represents a symbiosis of microbial networks spanning multiple organ systems, where the gut microbiota ecosystem is emerging as the preeminent one. The human microbiota has long been known to influence human health and disease, but recently researchers started to appreciate its interaction with the body systems. The bacterial composition is host specific and susceptible to genetic and other factors, such as environment, geographical location, lifestyle, diet and drug consumption. The aim of the present study was to isolate and select from faecal samples of young healthy people from North East of China novel probiotic bacterial strains. Several Lactobacillus strains have been characterized for their probiotic properties (gastric acidity and bile salts tolerance, antimicrobial activity), but also non-viable microbial cells, microbial fractions and cell free supernatant have been examined as bioactive compounds, with the purpose to investigate the postbiotic role of these components. Postbiotics contain intermediates and/or final products in metabolism of Lactobacillus spp., mainly lactic and acetic acid and antimicrobial peptides known as bacteriocins that may have potential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. Till now in vitro methods have been used in this study to select the more promising probiotic strains and their postbiotics.