Online Database for Retrieval Information about Prebiotics and Their Activity

Abstract

The number of studies aimed at proving the prebiotic properties of certain substances or compositions has been actively increasing, which has led to a large accumulation of scientific information that is fragmented and not systematized. Moreover, a number of criteria have been applied in these studies. The lack of an accessible and convenient information space to compare the obtained results seems to hold back not only scientific development, but also practical development in this field. A database called the «On-line Database of Researches on Activity of Prebiotics» (ODRAP) is presented in this article, which contains information about both prebiotics and some probiotics, that were used in these researches. Currently, ODRAP collects 25 bacteria genera or their combinations, 59 bacteria species, 140 prebiotic substances, 61 prebiotic production companies, 2 methods of fermentation, and 271 analyzed articles from 2001 till 2019. To facilitate access to the database, a special Web-interface was created, which allows any user who opens the Web-page to obtain information about the features and activities of prebiotics, as well as to sort the data by species and genus of bacteria applied in tests, the chemical nature or source of prebiotics, and other parameters. The convenience of the Web-interface is that it allows access to the database, regardless of the user platform and from anywhere, via the Internet.