Journal of Biomedical Advancement Scientific Research

Abstract

Dietary plant-based prebiotics—including oligosaccharides e.g. GOS, FOS, XOS, resistant starches, and polyphenols—feed and enrich beneficial gut microbes, promoting short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and metabolic, immunological, and epithelial homeostasis. These indigestible substrates enhance colonisation by Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli, Akkermansia, and other SCFA-producing taxa while inhibiting pathogens, thereby restoring microbial balance and countering dysbiosis. Prebiotics produce ace tate, propionate, and butyrate, which serve as energy substrates and immunomodulators by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines (such as IL 1β and TNF α), stimulating regulatory T and B cell differentiation through HDAC inhibition and GPCR (e.g., GPR43/109a) activation, improving gut barrier integrity and IgA synthesis. Polyphenols exert “duplibiotic” effects by both feeding beneficial bacteria and suppressing harmful species, offering additional therapeutic potential. Synergistically, synbiotics (combined probiotics and prebiotics) and postbiotics (microbial metabolites) further support intestinal microbiota and immune function, improving outcomes in metabolic, inflammatory, and gastrointestinal conditions. Experimental evidence highlights that early-life prebiotic exposure shapes adaptive immunity, for instance via B cell ontogeny and tolerogenic profiles. Collectively, this review highlights the multifaceted immunomodulatory capacity of plant-derived prebiotics on adaptive immunity and gut microbiota, suggesting applications for preventive and therapeutic strategies in metabolic and immune-mediated diseases.