Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, gut microbiota has been intensively explored at various levels. With the advent of multi-omics techniques such as metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, the structure and function of the microbiota have begun to be understood. Given that 70–80% of immune cells are found in the gut, it is clear what a major impact this “super organ” has on health.

Strategies to promote a “good” microbial community turn out to be crucial for a fine-tuned symbiotic relationship with the host, contributing to the prevention of disease occurrence and to the management of diseases that are usually correlated with dysbiosis states, as already observed in metabolic and respiratory disorders, among others.

Probiotics can be cost-effective in preventing and managing some diseases; however, it is usually very difficult to provide experimental evidence for health claims on probiotics as there are many variables to consider, such as specific species, strain, dose or duration of treatment, and host individual responses. There is still uncertainty about whether living probiotic strains are able to colonize and function in the human tract as some people appear to be more resistant to colonization.

Alternatively, the use of standardized doses of certain purified inactivated microbial cells or cell components, microbial metabolites and bioactive compounds generated by fermentation/enzyme hydrolyses, administered alone, have been recently suggested to modulate the gut microbiota and impact host health and disease.

Topics to be covered within this Special Issue include (but are not limited to):

• Novel probiotic strains;
• Influence of probiotics and/or bioactive compounds on gut microbiota modulation;
• Influence of probiotics and/or bioactive compounds in health and disease states;
• Signaling pathways mediating probiotics-host effects;
• Safety and regulations for the use of probiotics;
• Bioactive compounds able to modulate the gut microbiota and generated by fermentation/enzyme hydrolyses or food processing methods.

Contributions of original research to review articles are welcome.

Dr. Inês Brandão
Dr. Christophe Ruis Espírito Santo
Guest Editors

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• gut microbiota
• bioactive compounds
• immune system
• nutrition respiratory health