Naturally Occurring Microbiota-Accessible Borates: A Focused Minireview

Recently, we discovered and proved the essentiality of organic boron species (OBS), such as borate–pectic polysaccharides and borate–phenolic esters, for healthy symbiosis (HS) between microbiota and human/animal (H/A) host. The essentiality of OBS will provide new options for B supplementation in H/A nutrition for a healthy and long life. New knowledge on the essentiality of naturally occurring microbiota-accessible borate species for HS between microbiota and H/A host will allow the use of natural B-based dietary supplements to target the H/A microbiome (the gut, skin, oral, scalp, and vaginal microbiome). In the literature, there is evidence that certain bacteria need B (autoinducer-2 borate) for communication and our preliminary data show that HS takes place when the colonic mucus gel layer contains B. Subsequently, OBS become novel prebiotic candidates and target the colon as novel colonic foods.