A BENEO-Orafti Newsletter - Spring 2008 - Nr. 18:
Prebiotics and healthy ageing

In the picture: Prebiotics and healthy ageing

In the “Crown of Life” project (EU-funded CROWNALIFE project / QLK1-2000-00067), changes in the composition and functioning of the gut microbiota in elderly people were investigated in a cross-sectional study comprising 4 European locations (France, Germany, Italy and Sweden). Apart from age-related changes in the dominant gut bacteria also geographical location affected levels of gut bacteria with the levels of bifidobacteria being higher in Italian citizens compared to the other European locations. With ageing, a decrease in the percentages of Bacteroides, bifidobacteria and Clostridium leptum species in the microbiota was observed, whereas proportions of Lactobacillus species were elevated compared with younger adults. From this study, it appears that age does affect proportions of the main bacterial groups making up the gut microbiota and that also other factors, such as diet or lifestyle, affect bacterial species composition (Mueller et al. 2006).

The microbiota directly alters the architecture and physiology of the mucosa through induction of metabolic and immune responses and thereby influences and regulates host physiology throughout life. Ecological changes in the gut microflora of elderly individuals may induce physiological effects that go beyond the gastrointestinal tract and contribute to overall host health and well-being. Restitution of the intestinal ecology in the elderly has been achieved with the administration of prebiotics (Kleessen et al. 1997), and synbiotic supplementation has been associated with an improvement in well-being in an elderly population (Zunft et al. 2004).

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