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Impact of non-digestible carbohydrates and prebiotics on immunity, infections, inflammation and vaccine responses: a systematic review of evidence in healthy humans and a discussion of mechanistic proposals

Impact of non-digestible carbohydrates and prebiotics on immunity, infections, inflammation and vaccine responses: a systematic review of evidence in healthy humans and a discussion of mechanistic proposals
Impact of non-digestible carbohydrates and prebiotics on immunity, infections, inflammation and vaccine responses: a systematic review of evidence in healthy humans and a discussion of mechanistic proposals
Prebiotics, particularly non-digestible carbohydrates (NDCs), are increasingly recognized for their role in modulating immune responses in the gut, lungs, and urinary tract. This review systematically evaluates evidence from human studies on the effects of NDCs and prebiotics on immune markers, infection risk and severity, inflammation, and vaccine responses. Prebiotics such as inulin, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) positively influence gut microbiota by promoting beneficial species like Bifidobacteria. They also enhance the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which interact with immune cells via G-protein-coupled receptors, inducing anti-inflammatory effects. In addition to microbiota-mediated mechanisms, NDCs and prebiotics may directly affect immune and epithelial cells by interacting with pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), enhancing gut barrier function, and modulating immunity. A systematic review of human studies showed that prebiotics, including GOS, FOS, and 2′-fucosyllactose (2FL), reduced infections and increased IgA in healthy infants, while yeast β-glucan reduced respiratory infection symptoms in healthy adults. Yeast β-glucan and GOS supplementation resulted in improvements in NK cell activity. Some effects on vaccine efficacy were noted in young adults, but the overall impact of NDCs and prebiotics on vaccination and systemic inflammation was inconsistent. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms involved and to optimize health applications.
immunity, infection, inflammation, microbiota, non-digestible carbohydrates, prebiotic
1040-8398
Tunc, Hediye Arioz
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Calder, Philip C.
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Cait, Alissa
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Dodd, Georgina F.
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Gasaly Retamal, Naschla Y.I.
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Guillemet, Damien
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James, Daniel
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Korzeniowski, Konrad J.
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Lubkowska, Anna
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Meynier, Alexandra
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Ratejczak, Weronika
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Respondek, Frederique
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Thabuis, Clementine
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Vaughan, Elaine E.
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Venlet, Naomi
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Walton, Gemma
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Gasser, Olivier
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de Vos, Paul
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Tunc, Hediye Arioz
f7cf4619-fdb5-4296-8e3a-9fc6851b47fc
Calder, Philip C.
1797e54f-378e-4dcb-80a4-3e30018f07a6
Cait, Alissa
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Dodd, Georgina F.
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Gasaly Retamal, Naschla Y.I.
1ed616f9-480c-4e5c-9162-51af158ac878
Guillemet, Damien
4a236622-247d-469b-abc6-3b4ac6f33599
James, Daniel
c65d3d2d-f57d-45b5-b1a8-31ca0b799e75
Korzeniowski, Konrad J.
960fa532-70d6-44d8-b506-0afee7e11005
Lubkowska, Anna
710b72cd-0770-48dd-864d-cf49f18facb1
Meynier, Alexandra
3a831ead-1552-4e15-ba21-9b81fabb79d0
Ratejczak, Weronika
5214cb03-a3f3-4b38-8d24-0d19fd5f7239
Respondek, Frederique
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Thabuis, Clementine
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Vaughan, Elaine E.
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Venlet, Naomi
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Walton, Gemma
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Gasser, Olivier
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de Vos, Paul
443824b9-0485-4b85-a294-8b76c5476035

Tunc, Hediye Arioz, Calder, Philip C., Cait, Alissa, Dodd, Georgina F., Gasaly Retamal, Naschla Y.I., Guillemet, Damien, James, Daniel, Korzeniowski, Konrad J., Lubkowska, Anna, Meynier, Alexandra, Ratejczak, Weronika, Respondek, Frederique, Thabuis, Clementine, Vaughan, Elaine E., Venlet, Naomi, Walton, Gemma, Gasser, Olivier and de Vos, Paul (2025) Impact of non-digestible carbohydrates and prebiotics on immunity, infections, inflammation and vaccine responses: a systematic review of evidence in healthy humans and a discussion of mechanistic proposals. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. (doi:10.1080/10408398.2025.2514700).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Prebiotics, particularly non-digestible carbohydrates (NDCs), are increasingly recognized for their role in modulating immune responses in the gut, lungs, and urinary tract. This review systematically evaluates evidence from human studies on the effects of NDCs and prebiotics on immune markers, infection risk and severity, inflammation, and vaccine responses. Prebiotics such as inulin, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) positively influence gut microbiota by promoting beneficial species like Bifidobacteria. They also enhance the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which interact with immune cells via G-protein-coupled receptors, inducing anti-inflammatory effects. In addition to microbiota-mediated mechanisms, NDCs and prebiotics may directly affect immune and epithelial cells by interacting with pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), enhancing gut barrier function, and modulating immunity. A systematic review of human studies showed that prebiotics, including GOS, FOS, and 2′-fucosyllactose (2FL), reduced infections and increased IgA in healthy infants, while yeast β-glucan reduced respiratory infection symptoms in healthy adults. Yeast β-glucan and GOS supplementation resulted in improvements in NK cell activity. Some effects on vaccine efficacy were noted in young adults, but the overall impact of NDCs and prebiotics on vaccination and systemic inflammation was inconsistent. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms involved and to optimize health applications.

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Impact of non-digestible carbohydrates and prebiotics on immunity infections inflammation and vaccine responses a systematic review of evidence in - Version of Record
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Accepted/In Press date: 1 June 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 June 2025
Keywords: immunity, infection, inflammation, microbiota, non-digestible carbohydrates, prebiotic

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503021
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503021
ISSN: 1040-8398
PURE UUID: 56b37b09-4022-4365-a5e5-de572f8c2f8a
ORCID for Philip C. Calder: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6038-710X

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Date deposited: 16 Jul 2025 16:31
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 01:40

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Contributors

Author: Hediye Arioz Tunc
Author: Alissa Cait
Author: Georgina F. Dodd
Author: Naschla Y.I. Gasaly Retamal
Author: Damien Guillemet
Author: Daniel James
Author: Konrad J. Korzeniowski
Author: Anna Lubkowska
Author: Alexandra Meynier
Author: Weronika Ratejczak
Author: Frederique Respondek
Author: Clementine Thabuis
Author: Elaine E. Vaughan
Author: Naomi Venlet
Author: Gemma Walton
Author: Olivier Gasser
Author: Paul de Vos

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