Abstract
Numerous nutraceuticals and botanical food supplements are used with the intention of modulating body weight. A recent review examined the main food supplements used in weight loss, dividing them according to the main effects for which they were investigated. The direct or indirect effects exerted on the intestinal microbiota can also contribute to the effectiveness of these substances. The aim of this review is to evaluate whether any prebiotic effects, which could help to explain their efficacy or ineffectiveness, are documented in the recent literature for the main nutraceuticals and herbal food supplements used for weight loss management. Several prebiotic effects have been reported for various nutraceutical substances, which have shown activity on Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibacterium prausnitzi, Roseburia spp., and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. Different prebiotics have beneficial effects on weight and the related metabolic profile, in some cases even acting on the microbiota with mechanisms that are completely independent from those nutraceuticals for which certain products are normally used. Further studies are necessary to clarify the different levels at which a nutraceutical substance can exert its action.
Highlights
Overweight and obesity are related pathological conditions with a significant impact at the cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and oncological levels, representing a significant global public health problem [1]
The retrieved data indicated that many different food supplements, both herbal and not, have been investigated in humans for their prebiotic effect and their capacity to modulate gut microbiota. (Table 1)
For each substance, we reported data related to effects on weight loss through the microbiota modulation in animal models, considering that results obtained in animal models do not always reflect observations in humans
Summary
Overweight and obesity are related pathological conditions with a significant impact at the cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and oncological levels, representing a significant global public health problem [1]. Substances considered prebiotic, which stimulate components of the microbiota capable of providing positive effects, such as increasing immune function and protection from pathogens, improve host metabolism and nutrient absorption [3]. This can have a significant impact on the metabolism of various substances used as food supplements. Based on these aspects, the aim of this review is to evaluate the role of prebiotics in the weight loss activity of the main natural products identified, which has been increasingly investigated and reported recently in the scientific literature
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