The potential of the Persian Gulf to produce probiotic and prebiotic products

Introduction: Currently, natural compounds play a very important role in medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Since most of the earth's surface is covered by seas and oceans, and more than ۸۰ percent of living organisms exist in aquatic ecosystems, the seas are a valuable resource for natural medicinal compounds such as probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics )bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of the intestine ( and Prebiotics( indigestible carbohydrates found in food that are essential for stimulating the growth of probiotic bacteria in the body) are compounds that have benefits such as affecting gastrointestinal health, mental health, etc. Seaweed and algae can be mentioned as an important and available source for probiotic and prebiotics . The Persian Gulf is one of the valuable water resources in Iran which was considered as an important source for the algae extraction. The use of algae in the Persian Gulf to produce probiotic and prebiotic products has significant health and economic potential, which we focused on in this study. Material and methods: PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases were searched with following keywords : " probiorics and prebiotics AND seaweed", " Persian gulf AND seaweed"," Persian gulf AND probiorics ", ," Persian gulf AND probiorics " . After deleting irrelevant articles ۳۳ related articles were used for this review. Results: Based on the results of the search, ۱۵۳ species of algae were reported from the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Oman sea, of which ۸۷ species, including ۴۸ rhodophytes, ۱۶ phyophytes, ۱۸ chlorophytes, ۳ exanthophytes and ۲ cyanophytes, were identified in Iran. In another study in Qeshm island, a total of ۷۳ species of algae including ۲۰ chlorophytes, ۱۰ feophytes and ۴۳ rhodophytes were identified. Due to the presence of various red, green and brown algae in the Persian Gulf as a rich source of probiotics and prebiotics, this study Suggests the potential of these algae in Iranian waters for possible use in the production of probiotic and prebiotic products. Discussion: The results showed that seaweed grows abundantly in coastal areas and can be an important source of probiotic and prebiotic products for both humans and animals . Algae have large amounts of nutrients that are used by beneficial bacteria. In addition, algae are rich in protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, pigments, polyphenols and elements such as copper, iron and zinc, all of which play an active role in providing the body with nutrients. However, it should be noted that despite the therapeutic effect of algae in the prevention and treatment of various diseases, it is clear that the protective role cannot be generalized and in some cases is not yet definitive. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that using the potential of the Persian Gulf to produce probiotics and prebiotics can lead to the development of some effective dietary supplements to combat various diseases. Further study to evaluate the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic parameters is the first step for this national production, which can significantly contribute to the country's economy.

Keywords:

Probiotic , Prebiotic , Persian Gulf , seaweed , Alage