earticle

영어

As the association between the gut microbiota and human health has become well established, interest in functional ingredients for gut health has continued to grow. Although the domestic health functional food market has expanded rapidly, conventional probiotics have inherent limitations, including issues related to the stability of live microorganisms and the potential risk of infection in immunocompromised individuals. Parabiotics, defined as inactivated probiotic cells, do not contain viable microorganisms and have therefore attracted attention as an alternative that may overcome the safety and stability limitations of existing probiotic products. This study comprehensively examined the health-promoting effects of parabiotics and explored their potential as functional food ingredients, along with related regulatory implications. A synthesis of the studies included in the metaanalysis indicated that parabiotics generally exhibited favorable effects on immune modulation, inflammation reduction, and metabolic improvement. The pooled effect size was estimated to be in the moderate-to-large range; however, statistical significance was not achieved due to substantial heterogeneity across studies. Nevertheless, several individual studies demonstrated pronounced effects under specific conditions, suggesting that parabiotics may exert clinically meaningful benefits in certain strains or specific target populations. The high degree of heterogeneity among studies indicates that the effects of parabiotics may vary according to strain characteristics, intervention methods, and the immune status of the target population, highlighting the need for a more personalized approach rather than a uniform evaluation framework. In particular, effects appeared to be limited in healthy adult populations, whereas more pronounced improvements were observed in populations with immune imbalance or inflammatory conditions. A comprehensive review of domestic and international regulatory environments suggests that the characteristics of parabiotics are not adequately reflected within existing probioticcentered evaluation systems. For their inclusion as health functional food ingredients in Korea, improvements to current evaluation criteria, accumulation of large-scale human studies, and establishment of standardized manufacturing and quality control guidelines are required. This study provides scientific evidence supporting the potential public health applicability of parabiotics as next-generation functional ingredients that combine safety and efficacy. In the context of increasing public health burdens associated with population aging and the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, parabiotics may represent a valuable preventive health management option that can be used relatively safely even by immunocompromised individuals.