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Boyajian et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2024;3:29 Microbiome Research
DOI: 10.20517/mrr.2024.05
Reports

Review Open Access

Probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and other
microbiome-based innovative therapeutics to

mitigate obesity and enhance longevity via the gut-
brain axis

1,2
1
1
1
Jacqueline L. Boyajian 1 , Paromita Islam , Ahmed Abosalha , Sabrina Schaly , Rahul Thareja , Amal
1
1
1
1
Kassab , Karan Arora , Madison Santos , Cedrique Shum-Tim , Satya Prakash 1
1
Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and
Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Quebec, Canada.
2
Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta 31111, Egypt.
Correspondence to: Dr. Satya Prakash, Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, 3775 Rue University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Quebec,
Canada. E-mail: satya.prakash@mcgill.ca
How to cite this article: Boyajian JL, Islam P, Abosalha A, Schaly S, Thareja R, Kassab A, Arora K, Santos M, Shum-Tim C,
Prakash S. Probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and other microbiome-based innovative therapeutics to mitigate obesity and
enhance longevity via the gut-brain axis. Microbiome Res Rep 2024;3:29. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2024.05
Received: 15 Jan 2024 First Decision: 12 Mar 2024 Revised: 18 Apr 2024 Accepted: 11 May 2024 Published: 17 May 2024
Academic Editor: Marco Ventura Copy Editor: Dong-Li Li Production Editor: Dong-Li Li

Abstract
The global prevalence of obesity currently exceeds 1 billion people and is accompanied by an increase in the aging
population. Obesity and aging share many hallmarks and are leading risk factors for cardiometabolic disease and
premature death. Current anti-obesity and pro-longevity pharmacotherapies are limited by side effects, warranting
the development of novel therapies. The gut microbiota plays a major role in human health and disease, with a
dysbiotic composition evident in obese and aged individuals. The bidirectional communication system between the
gut and the central nervous system, known as the gut-brain axis, may link obesity to unhealthy aging. Modulating
the gut with microbiome-targeted therapies, such as biotics, is a novel strategy to treat and/or manage obesity and
promote longevity. Biotics represent material derived from living or once-living organisms, many of which have
therapeutic effects. Pre-, pro-, syn- and post-biotics may beneficially modulate gut microbial composition and
function to improve obesity and the aging process. However, the investigation of biotics as next-generation
therapeutics has only just begun. Further research is needed to identify therapeutic biotics and understand their
mechanisms of action. Investigating the function of the gut-brain axis in obesity and aging may lead to novel

© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
indicate if changes were made.

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