Handbook of Meat Processing

434 Chapter 24

Gibson and Roberfroid (1995) also pro-

posed the concept of synbiotics, which is a

mixture of probiotics and prebiotics (Fig.

24.7 ). Synbiotics are foods containing both

probiotic bacteria and prebiotic substances to

provide a diet in which the growth of the

probiotic bacteria is enhanced by the prebiot-

ics, thus promoting the chance of the probi-

otic bacteria becoming established in the gut

and conferring a health benefi t (Ziemer and

Gibson 1998 ). Along with probiotics, the

concepts of prebiotics and synbiotics are

expected to be utilized for the development

of novel meat products.

Concluding Remarks

Increasing attention has been paid to the

physiological functions of meat and func-

tional meat products in recent years (Jim é nez -

Colmenero et al. 2001, 2006 ; Arihara 2004,

2006a, b ; Fern á ndez - Gin é s et al. 2005 ;

Jim é nez - Colmenero 2007a, b ; Arihara and

Ohata 2008 ). Since meat and meat products

are important in the diet in most developed

countries, healthier meat and meat products

would contribute to human health. Although

development of novel functional meat prod-

ucts is still limited, scientifi c information for

designing functional meat products has been

accumulating, and it has become technically

possible to produce various meat products.

affect the host by selectively stimulating the
growth and/or activity of one or a limited
number of bacteria in the colon and thus
improve the health of the host ” (Gibson and
Roberfroid 1995 ). Later, this defi nition was
updated as “ a selectively fermented ingredi-
ent that allows specifi c changes, both in the
composition and/or activity in the gastroin-
testinal microfl ora that confers benefi ts ”
(Gibson et al. 2004 ). As representative pre-
biotic substances, oligosaccharides and
dietary fi bers have been utilized to enhance
the growth of probiotic bacteria (Holzapfel
and Schillinger 2002 ; Tanaka and Sako 2003 ;
Roberfroid 2008 ). In addition to oligosac-
charides and dietary fi bers, the presence of
prebiotic peptides has been reported (Liepke
et al. 2002 ; Arihara 2006a ). Arihara et al.
(2006) found that the hydrolyzate of porcine
skeletal muscle proteins enhanced the growth
of Bifi dobacterium strains. One of the cor-
responding prebiotic peptides was identifi ed
as Glu - Leu - Met.
Alteration of the gut microfl ora by the
ingestion of prebiotics has the following ben-
efi cial effects on health status (Tanaka and
Sako 2003 ):

• suppression of harmful bacteria


• reduction of putrefactive substances


• reduction of carcinogenetic substances


• stimulation of bowel movement


• optimization of immune responses


• improvement of mineral absorption


• activation of colonocytes


• acidifi cation of caecal and faecal contents


• improvement of lipid metabolism

Also, desirable attributes of functionally
enhanced prebiotics listed by Rastall (2000)
are: (1) targeting specifi c probiotics
( Lactobacillus and/or Bifi dobacterium ), (2)
active at low dosage with lack of side effects,
(3) persistence through the colon, (4) protec-
tion against colon cancer, (5) enhancement of
the barrier effect against pathogens, and (6)
inhibition of adhesion of pathogens.

SYNBIOTICS

PROBIOTICS PREBIOTICS

Intestinal Microflora

Lactobacillus

Bifidobacterium

Oligosaccharides

Dietary fibers

Pathogen inhibition,

Immune modulation,

Mineral absorption, etc.

Figure 24.7. Concept of probiotics, prebiotics, and

synbiotics.