Ingredients that affect gut health are characterized as prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and newly defined “postbiotics.” Ongoing research is elucidating the mechanisms by which these ingredients confer health benefits, demonstrating how trending ingredients such as fiber affect the gut microbiome on a molecular level, by interaction with microorganisms either directly or within intestinal cells. 

Demand for probiotics is growing as digestive health moves up the consumer agenda, a major global survey by makers of science-backed probiotic BC30™ has shown.