The Role of Prebiotic, Probiotic, and Synbiotic in Gut Microbiota and Gut Permeability in Children Affected by Air Pollution

Abstract

Air pollution has been linked with gut microbiota dysbiosis. Ingested environmental pollutants may alter gut microbiota compositions by changing the environment of the gut. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been observed in children with asthma, linking the possible role of gut microbiota with systemic immune response and asthma. This paper aims to identify current science on how prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics can improve gut microbiota dysbiosis. We reviewed the existing literature related to the role of pre-, pro-, and synbiotics in child health, and the evidence mapping method was chosen as the rapid review to identify gaps in knowledge and future research needs. In conclusion, the current evidence on the role of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on child health, while limited, showed promising results on the allergy and immunology pathway, including infection prevention for the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract.