Editorial: Effects of Probiotics and Prebiotics on Gut Pathogens and Toxins

balance of the digestive tract, inhibit the growth and adhesion of pathogenic bacteria, and ameliorate inflammation, thereby supporting a healthy digestive tract. Prebiotics are substrates that are selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit and they can also defense against pathogens and modulate gut microbiota (Gibson et al., 2017). Use of some probiotics and prebiotics is endorsed by robust efficacy evaluations. However, our knowledge on their mechanisms is mainly based on research using in vitro, animal or ex vivo human models and not all mechanisms have been confirmed in humans (Pujari & Banerjee, 2021).Probiotics and prebiotics function in the intestine via crosstalk with the host and the commensal bacteria in certain ways, which, till now, are not fully understood regarding the specific molecules directly conferring the health benefits, the host targets of these molecules and the signal transduction pathways. The current understanding of the interactions between probiotics, prebiotics, microbiota and pathogens in the gut is insufficient, which limits the application of probiotics and prebiotics (Cunningham et al., 2021).We received 14 submissions in this research topic, and finally seven research articles and one review passed the strict peer review process and were accepted for publication.