Abstract

The gut microbiota contains trillions of microorganisms living in symbiotic relationships with the host. Studies have concluded that the intestinal microbiota has a crucial part in the modulation of immune, metabolic, and endocrine functions. Probiotics are microorganisms that offer health benefits to the host and are effective against a variety of disease conditions, such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea, atopic eczema, upper respiratory tract infection, and some inflammatory conditions. Synbiotics are a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics in a form of synergism. This study examines the potential effects of prebiotics, synbiotics, and heat-inactivated Lactobacillus fermentum on aged flies. The results from the crawling assay suggest that the intended treatment did not have any negative impact on the flies. On the other hand, the results from the negative geotaxis assay suggest that the treatment increased the motility rate, especially the flies in the symbiotic treatment group exhibited high motility. Both acetylcholinesterase and superoxide dismutase assays revealed a significant increase in the levels of enzyme activity in the treated groups. This indicates the formulation positively impacts the level of these enzymes that are generally observed to be deficient in aged flies.

Key words: Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, Gut microbiome, Lactobacillus fermentum, Drosophila melanogaster