Preparations that combine probiotics (living micro-organisms) and prebiotics (their food) for a health benefit.

What is the difference from taking pro- and prebiotics separately?

With synbiotics, micro-organisms and substrate are deliberately offered together, which can increase the survival and activity of the beneficial strains.

What does complementary versus synergistic mean?

Complementary = a probiotic and prebiotic that each qualify separately. Synergistic = a substrate specifically tailored to the accompanying micro-organisms.

Are synbiotics also found in food?

In a sense: fermented, fibre-rich products such as sauerkraut provide both living cultures and fibre.

CosmoLexicon › Synbiotics

Synbiotics

EN: synbiotics · related terms: probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics

Definition Synbiotics are preparations that combine living micro-organisms (probiotics) and a selectively utilised substrate (prebiotics), conferring a health benefit on the host. The idea: offer the bacterium and its food together, so that the beneficial micro-organisms have a better chance to take hold and stay active.

In plain language

Synbiotics are the best of both worlds: you give not only the good bacterium (the probiotic), but at the same time the food it needs (the prebiotic). Think of it as planting a little plant and giving it good potting soil, instead of just tossing a seed into bare earth. The idea is that the beneficial micro-organisms thus get a better start and stay active for longer. You find the principle both in smart supplements and in fermented, fibre-rich food — think of sauerkraut (living cultures and fibre) or yoghurt with some oats and fruit. As with probiotics, the same applies: the precise combination determines the effect, and it remains complementary to a varied, plant-rich diet that feeds your whole microbiome.

The science behind

The ISAPP consensus (Swanson et al. 2020) defines a synbiotic as 'a mixture of living micro-organisms and substrate(s) selectively utilised by host micro-organisms, conferring a health benefit on the host'. A distinction is made between:

• Complementary synbiotics. A probiotic and a prebiotic that each meet the definition separately and are given together.
• Synergistic synbiotics. A substrate specifically tailored to the accompanying micro-organisms, even if it does not qualify as a prebiotic on its own.

The rationale is functional: by offering micro-organisms together with their preferred substrate, one potentially increases survival, activity and the metabolic effect — among other things via an increased postbiotic output such as short-chain fatty acids. The clinical evidence is strain- and formula-dependent and is still growing; general claims are not justified.

Within co-metabolism thinking, synbiotics capture the logic of the microbiome: micro-organisms and their food belong together. My InnerSelfie reads them as one possible lever within a broader gut and lifestyle picture. This reading is supportive and observational — not a medical diagnosis.

Related concepts

Probiotics Prebiotics Postbiotics (SCFA)Microbiome

Where appropriate — support: a well-matched synbiotic brings the right micro-organisms together with their preferred fibres. Discover the My Key Nutrients range.

Scientific references

• Swanson et al. (2020), ISAPP consensus on the definition of synbiotics, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
• Prebiotics, Probiotics and Nutraceuticals.
• Emily Leeming, Genius Gut.

Frequently asked questions

What are synbiotics?: Preparations that combine probiotics (living micro-organisms) and prebiotics (their food) for a health benefit.
What is the difference from taking pro- and prebiotics separately?: With synbiotics, micro-organisms and substrate are deliberately offered together, which can increase the survival and activity of the beneficial strains.
What does complementary versus synergistic mean?: Complementary = a probiotic and prebiotic that each qualify separately. Synergistic = a substrate specifically tailored to the accompanying micro-organisms.
Are synbiotics also found in food?: In a sense: fermented, fibre-rich products such as sauerkraut provide both living cultures and fibre.