Classifying compounds as prebiotics — scientific perspectives and recommendations

The prebiotic concept, developed nearly 30 years ago, suggests that selectively provided growth substrates can modulate host microbial communities to improve health. This Expert Recommendation addresses current challenges in the prebiotic field, including establishing causal relationships between microbiota modulation and health outcomes. The authors propose a framework for classifying compounds as prebiotics based on ecological principles and methodologies for characterizing microbiome changes. They also introduce statistical approaches to link selective microbiome effects with health benefits, and discuss global communication and regulatory strategies regarding prebiotics.