Healthy Gut Keeps Children from Falling Ill: Have You Heard of Synbiotic Combinations?

Prebiotics are an important component in supporting a child’s growth and development because they serve as food for the good bacteria in the gut (probiotics). The combination of prebiotics and probiotics, known as synbiotics, is considered to provide optimal benefits for children’s health.

This was conveyed by the Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs at Danone Indonesia, Dr dr Ray Wagiu Basrawi. According to him, synbiotics are very important for balancing the gut microbiota and helping to reduce the risk of allergies and infections in children.

“The good bacteria in the gut are called probiotics. Prebiotics are food for those good bacteria. So, when good bacteria are given food in the form of prebiotics and are present together with probiotics, the combination of the two is called synbiotics. This is very important for balancing the gut microbiota,” he said during a media discussion in Jakarta on Thursday (6/8/2026).

According to Dr Ray, various studies, including those on Indonesian children, show that providing prebiotics and probiotics simultaneously makes the good bacteria in the gut grow more optimally. In fact, the gut microbiota composition of children who receive synbiotics approaches the gut bacteria variation of children who receive exclusive breastfeeding and natural foods.

“And this is very important for maintaining immunity, the body’s resistance, the learning process, and also the behavioural development of the little one,” said Dr Ray.

Prebiotics themselves can be obtained from various everyday foods, ranging from bananas, apples, oats, to soybeans. However, according to Dr Ray, prebiotics easily lose their effectiveness if consumed alone or processed without good hygienic standards. Therefore, food technology plays a role in combining prebiotics and probiotics in the form of synbiotics.

“Prebiotics are very easily damaged. They very easily fail to provide maximum effect if eaten separately, especially if the process is not hygienic. That is why food technology is very important in ensuring that the prebiotics and probiotics are included together in a synbiotic composition. And this must truly comply with food standards,” he said.