Probiotics are living microorganisms that provide health benefits to the host when consumed in certain amounts. Autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis are immune diseases that cause tissue and organ damage due to immune dysfunction in the body. Patients with autoimmune diseases often suffer from intestinal flora disorders. Probiotic intervention can restore intestinal microecological balance, avoiding the toxic side effects of medications, so it provides a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases. This article reviews the recent progress in research on autoimmune diseases and presents the current status and future prospects of the application of probiotic intervention strategies in autoimmune diseases.

Fungal polysaccharides are a group of high polymers extracted from the fruiting body, mycelium or fermentation broth of fungi, and are one of the main bioactive substances in edible fungi. They are composed of a variety of monosaccharides and form a complex structure through the connection of chemical bonds, which makes them have a variety of biological activities such as anti-tumor, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic effects. They are often added to foods as prebiotics. In recent years, with the continuous exploration of fungal polysaccharides, rapid progress has been made in the extraction, purification, structure analysis, biological activities and product development of fungal polysaccharides. In this paper, the chemical composition, structure analysis and biological activities of fungal polysaccharides are summarized, and the development status and future prospects of lactic acid bacteria fermented foods incorporated with fungal polysaccharides are discussed, so as to provide reference for functional exploration of fungal polysaccharides and for future research to enrich the variety of lactic acid bacteria fermented products.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that threatens human health all over the world. Rheumatoid arthritis is closely related to intestinal microbial balance. Probiotics have been demonstrated to have the potential for treating rheumatoid arthritis as they can play an important role?in?improving gut microbiota disorder and restoring normal gut microbiota.?This?paper reviews the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and the changes in the gut microbiota of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and summarizes research studies on the application of probiotics in alleviating rheumatoid arthritis, in order to provide a basis for further clinical trials and application of probiotics.

Postbiotics are a new means of intervention in the intestinal ecosystem that has emerged in recent years. Postbiotics refer to soluble factors (products or metabolic by-products) secreted by living bacteria or released after bacterial lysis, namely small molecules that regulate the health of the host, such as enzymes, peptides, teichoic acid, peptides derived from peptidoglycan, polysaccharides, cell surface proteins, and organic acids. Although the International Symposium of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics has not yet published a consensus on postbiotics, this concept closely related to probiotics still attracts people’s attention. This paper briefly clarifies the classification and preparation methods of postbiotics, and discusses the advantages and potential application of postbiotics as functional ingredients in dairy products.

A method for the simultaneous determination of twelve elements (K, Ca, Na, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Al, Pb, Cr and Cd) in milk powder for infants and young children by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICPAES) was established. Instrumental parameters were optimized. Standard curves for these twelve elements were obtained with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9995. The detection limits of the ICP-AES method for these elements were in the range of 0.02 to 5 mg/kg, and the spiked recoveries were 87.5%–106.3% with RSD lower than 5% (n = 6). This method was rapid and accurate and could be used for quality control and safety evaluation of milk powder.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that threatens human health all over the world. Rheumatoid arthritis is closely related to intestinal microbial balance. Probiotics have been demonstrated to have the potential for treating rheumatoid arthritis as they can play an important role in improving gut microbiota disorder and restoring normal gut microbiota. This paper reviews the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and the changes in the gut microbiota of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and summarizes research studies on the application of probiotics in alleviating rheumatoid arthritis, in order to provide a basis for further clinical trials and application of probiotics.