Probiotics: Microbial therapy for health modulation (original) (raw)
Probiotics and Human Health: Synoptic Review
2000
The development of probiotic, functional foods aims to "kill two birds with one stone," which is accomplished by providing a microbial stimulus to the host immune system by means of beneficial live microorganism cultures that are characteristic of the healthy, human gut microflora. Several probiotic preparations seem to have promise in prevention or treatment of various conditions. Probiotic bacteria reinforce the different lines of gut defense, which are immune exclusion, immune elimination, and immune regulation. They stimulate non-specific host resistance to microbial pathogens, thereby aiding in pathogen eradication. Best documented clinical application of probiotics is in the treatment of acute diarrhea. In humans, documented effects were reported for the alleviation of intestinal inflammation, normalization of gut mucosal dysfunction, and down-regulation of hypersensitivity reactions. The efficacy of probiotics in acute enteric infections and post-antibiotic syndromes is now established and there is emerging evidence for a role in alleviation of necrotizing enterocolitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and some forms of inflammatory bowel disease. Probiotics are gaining importance because of their innumerable benefits, e.g. treating lactose intolerance, hypercholesterol problem, cardiac diseases and managing cardiac problems like atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. However, adequate information by which the consumer and health professional can judge the efficacy and safety of retailed probiotics is lacking. Probiotic products have not been subjected to large-scale trials of efficacy that are used in the pharmaceutical industry. Without these trials and subsequent approval by fastidious regulatory agencies such as the FDA (USA), probiotics continue to languish in the self-care health market. However, the future is bright; enhanced understanding of the molecular details of host's microflora flora interactions within the gut promises to yield new therapeutic targets and the potential to move from "bugs to drugs". With the current focus on disease prevention and the quest for optimal health at all ages, the probiotics market potential is enormous. Health professionals are in an ideal position to help and guide their clients toward appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic uses of probiotics that deliver the desired beneficial health effects.
Probiotics And Health: A New Emerging Modality In Bio-Therapeutics
1999
The word pro-biotics derives from two Greek words meaning for life and refers to organisms that are incorporated into foods or supplements with the aim of reestablishing a. healthy intestinal flora. A more recent definition of the term states: "a mono or mixed" culture of live micro-organisms which, applied to man or animal, affects beneficially the host animal by improving intestinal microbial balance"(l). The micro-organisms commonly used as probiotics for humans are the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Our general health status depends to a large extent upon the presence, number and relationship of the normal friendly bacteria of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The recognised ability of the intestinal microflora and probiotic micro-organisms to exert a wide number of beneficial and potentially therapeutic effects, without the side effects normally encountered by traditional drug therapies, has created a great deal of interest in the use of pro biotic bacteria as a potential bio-therapeutic.
Promising future of probiotics for human health: Current scenario
Chronicles of Young Scientists, 2012
Probiotics are nonpathogenic microorganisms mostly of human origin which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host and enable to prevent or improve some diseases. Probiotics may be a natural temporary constituent of the resident intestinal microflora, but their concentration is not sufficient for therapeutic purposes. The microbiota, the intestinal epithelium, and the mucosal immune system constitute the gastrointestinal ecosystem. All three components are essential for complete functional and developmental maturity of the system. Probiotics are defined as live microbial food ingredients that have a beneficial effect on human health. The use of antibiotics, immunosuppressive therapy, and irradiation, among other means of treatment, may cause alterations in the composition and have an effect on the gastrointestinal tract flora. Therefore, the introduction of beneficial bacterial species to GI tract may be a very attractive option to re-establish the microbial equilibrium and prevent disease. The efficacy of probiotics in acute enteric infections and post-antibiotic syndromes is now established and there is emerging evidence for a role in necrotizing enterocolitis, irritable bowel syndrome, periodontal diseases, and some forms of inflammatory bowel disease.
International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 2024
This review critically evaluates the role of probiotics in modulating gut microbiota composition and their potential health benefits. Probiotics are live microorganisms that confer health benefits to the host when consumed in adequate amounts. The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining gastrointestinal homeostasis, immune function, and overall health. Numerous studies have investigated the effects of probiotics on gut microbiota composition and their impact on various health outcomes. Probiotics summarize recent findings on the mechanisms by which probiotics influence gut microbiota composition, including competitive exclusion, production of antimicrobial compounds, and modulation of host immune responses. Furthermore, we discuss the clinical evidence supporting the use of probiotics in the management of gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and antibioticassociated diarrhea. Additionally, we examine emerging research on the potential benefits of probiotics for non-gastrointestinal conditions, including allergic disorders, metabolic syndrome, and mental health disorders. Finally, we highlight gaps in current knowledge and propose future research directions to optimize the use of probiotics for promoting gut health and overall well-being.
Gut flora in health and disease: potential role of probiotics
Current issues in intestinal microbiology, 2005
In a young evolving science, there are always more questions than answers. That is also the situation in the emerging field of Probiotics, and this was made very clear at the International Probiotics Workshop in Amsterdam. In the report of this workshop, we present a selection of the most urgent questions in the field of probiotics. In addition, we propose a few strategies for the future of probiotics research. During the workshop, 120 experts--from disciplines including Human Nutrition, Gastroenterology, Nutritional Therapy, Cell Biology, Microbiology and Immunology--discussed new views on microbe-host interactions and the role of probiotics in prevention and alleviation of gastro-intestinal, atopic and auto-immune diseases. There is a general consensus among the experts that administering defined strains can help in preventing and curing gut flora related diseases: the first clinical trials show a promising role for probiotics. But the system is very complex, and most underlying m...
Benefaction of probiotics in human gastro intestinal tract
2019
In last two decades probiotic bacteria have become most popular due to continuously enlarging scientific research and evidences based on its beneficiary effects on human health. According to previous research work probiotics have documented health benefits outside the gastrointestinal tract; digestive health remains key benefits for probiotics. Recent advances in technology have made more concentrated indepth analysis on the intestinal microbiota. Generally these probiotics will not only cure or prevent disease, but will mainly focus at maintaining health and reducing risk for disease. Along with the reducing risk factor these probiotics can exert health benefits in people suffering with diarrhoea, constipation, gastro intestinal mucositis and inflammatory diseases of the intestine. Even though maximal mode and mechanism of probiotic action is known, there remains a challenge to identify specific and mixed combinations of strains for explicit health benefits. Intestinal microbiota c...
Probiotics and health: An evidence-based review
Pharmacological Research, 2011
The intestinal microbiota is an ecosystem formed by a variety of ecological niches, made of several bacterial species and a very large amount of strains. The microbiota is in close contact with the intestinal mucosa or epithelial interface which is, after the respiratory area, the largest surface of the body, occupying approximately 250-400 m 2 . The physiological activities of the microbiota are manifold and are just being unraveled. Based on the observations of the multiple roles played by the microbiota in health and disease, the notion of modifying it with appropriate formulations, i.e. probiotics, is being tested in several settings.
World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2014
Although it is now known that the human body is colonized by a wide variety of microbial populations in different parts (such as the mouth, pharynx and respiratory system, the skin, the gastro-and urogenital tracts), many effects of the complex interactions between the human host and microbial symbionts are still not completely understood. The dysbiosis of the gastrointestinal tract microbiota is considered to be one of the most important contributing factors in the development of many gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and colorectal cancer, as well as systemic diseases like obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Fecal microbial transplantations appear to be promising therapies for dysbiosis-associated diseases; however, probiotic microorganisms have been growing in popularity due to increasing numbers of studies proving that certain strains present health promoting properties, among them the beneficial balance of the intestinal microbiota. Inflammatory bowel diseases and
Probiotics as Biotherapeutic Agents: Present Knowledge and Future Prospects
Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2003
Since the early observations of Elie Metchnikoff, a wealth of experiments have described the use of selected microorganisms, mainly belonging to the lactic acid bacteria family, for the prevention or treatment of a variety of pathological situations. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the proposed actions remain vastly unknown, partly as a consequence of the complexity of the gastro-intestinal ecosystem with which these biotherapeutic agents are expected to interact, but also because of the increasing variety of strains considered to have potential probiotic characteristics. During the past decades, however, the beneficial effect of specific strains in preventing or treating intestinal disorders has been substantiated by well-controlled clinical trials. Increasing evidence, including human studies, is also supporting the immunomodulatory role attributed to given lactic acid bacterial strains. The desire by consumers to use natural methods for health maintenance rather than long-term chemotherapeutic agents (i.e. antibiotics), linked to their expectation that food becomes a source of prolonged well-being, supports the speculation that the probiotic market will expand rapidly. Much of this growth will also depend on the reliability of claims that these products will bare. Therefore, the legislator will have to provide clear rules and regulations which will depend on measurable biomarkers and criteria based on scientific evidence. These commercial and legislative needs will hopefully provide scientists with the resources necessary to conduct the multidisciplinary research required to establish facts and mechanisms of action for carefully selected probiotic strains. These research results will probably be as essential for the positioning of probiotic preparations as either a food, a food supplement or as pharmaceutical preparation.
Modulation of Gut Microbiota for Health by Current and Next-Generation Probiotics
Nutrients
The human gut microbiota is a complex ecosystem and has an essential role in maintaining intestinal and systemic health. Microbiota dysbiosis is associated with a number of intestinal and systemic conditions and its modulation for human health is of great interest. Gut microbiota is a source of novel health-promoting bacteria, often termed as next-generation probiotics in order to distinguish them from traditional probiotics. The previous lessons learned with traditional probiotics can help the development of next-generation probiotics that target specific health issues and needs.
Lactic Acid Bacteria: Genetics, Metabolism and Applications, 1999
The enteric flora comprise approximately 95% of the total number of cells in the human body and are capable of eliciting immune responses while also protecting against microbial pathogens. However, the resident bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) may also be implicated in the pathogenesis of several chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The University College Cork-based Probiotic Research Group has successfully isolated and identified lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which exhibit beneficial probiotic traits. These characteristics include the demonstration of bile tolerance; acid resistance; adherence to host epithelial tissue; and in vitro antagonism of potentially-pathogenic micro-organisms or those which have been implicated in promoting inflammation. The primary objective of this report is to describe the strategy adopted for the selection of potentially effective probiotic bacteria. The study further describes the evaluation of two members of the resulting panel of micro-organisms (Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius UCC118 and Bifidobacterium longum infantis 35624) under in vitro conditions and throughout in vivo murine and human feeding trials. Specifically, an initial feeding study completed in Balb/c mice focused upon (i) effective delivery of the probiotic micro-organisms to the GIT and evaluation of the ability of the introduced strains to survive transit through, and possibly colonise, the murine GIT; (ii) accepting the complexity of the hostile GIT and faecal environments, development of a method of enumerating the introduced bacterial strains using conventional microbiological techniques; and (iii) assessment of the effects of administered bacterial strains on the numbers of specific recoverable indigenous bacteria in the murine GIT and faeces. Additional research, exploiting the availability of murine models of inflammatory bowel disease, demonstrated the beneficial effects of administering probiotic combinations of Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118 and Bifidobacterium longum infantis 35624 in prevention of illness-related weight loss. A further ethically-approved feeding trial, successfully conducted in 80 healthy volunteers, demonstrated that yoghurt can be used as a vehicle for delivery of Lactobacillus salivarius strain UCC118 to the human GIT with considerable efficacy in influencing gut flora and colonisation.
Benefaction of probiotics for human health: A review
Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 2018
Humans are a unique reservoir of heterogeneous and vivacious group of microbes, which together forms the human-microbiome superorganism. Human gut serves as a home to over 100e1000 microbial species, which primarily modulate the host internal environment and thereby, play a major role in host health. This spectacular symbiotic relationship has attracted extensive research in this field. More specifically, these organisms play key roles in defense function, eupepsia along with catabolism and anabolism, and impact brain-gut responses. The emergence of microbiota with resistance and tolerance to existing conventional drugs and antibiotics has decreased the drug efficacies. Furthermore, the modern biotechnology mediated nano-encapsulated multiplex supplements appear to be high cost and inconvenient. Henceforth, a simple, low-cost, receptive and intrinsic approach to achieve health benefits is vital in the present era. Supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics has shown promising results against various enteric pathogens due to their unique ability to compete with pathogenic microbiota for adhesion sites, to alienate pathogens or to stimulate, modulate and regulate the host's immune response by initiating the activation of specific genes in and outside the host intestinal tract. Probiotics have also been shown to regulate fat storage and stimulate intestinal angiogenesis. Hence, this study aims to underline the possible beneficial impact of probiotics for human health and medical sectors and for better lifestyle.
New perspectives on probiotics in health and disease
The gut microbiota continues to fascinate scientists in many realms when it is considered that humans contain 90% bacteria. Correlations between changes in composition and activity of the gut microbiota and common disorders such as cancer, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, oral health, etc. have been proposed. What is the real role of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics in influencing a healthy microbiota? Both in vitro evidences and in vivo clinical data have supported some of these new health claims, while recent molecular advancement has provided strong indications to support and justify the hypotheses. However, probiotics validity and health claims have continuously been rejected on the basis of “biomarker deficiency”. To battle the increase in health care costs, a preventive approach to medicine with the development of probiotics and prebiotics or symbiotic products is being advanced. This review discusses the potential beneficial effects of probiotics in preventing and treating certain diseases as well as current and future perspectives of probiotic research.
Probiotics: Versatile Bioactive Components in Promoting Human Health
Medicina
The positive impact of probiotic strains on human health has become more evident than ever before. Often delivered through food, dietary products, supplements, and drugs, different legislations for safety and efficacy issues have been prepared. Furthermore, regulatory agencies have addressed various approaches toward these products, whether they authorize claims mentioning a disease’s diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Due to the diversity of bacteria and yeast strains, strict approaches have been designed to assess for side effects and post-market surveillance. One of the most essential delivery systems of probiotics is within food, due to the great beneficial health effects of this system compared to pharmaceutical products and also due to the increasing importance of food and nutrition. Modern lifestyle or various diseases lead to an imbalance of the intestinal flora. Nonetheless, as the amount of probiotic use needs accurate calculations, different factors should also be taken...
The Dynamic Microbial Landscape of the Intestine and the Impact on Probiotic Therapy
Journal of Probiotics & Health, 2015
A diverse, symbiotic ecosystem of microbes resides in our gut, contributing to the complexity of human health. As the most microbe rich area of the human body, the gut microbiota provides a number of important physiological functions including metabolism, immunity, and protection from pathogens. Environmental factors, especially nutrition and dietary-components, can influence or even completely alter the microbial landscape and its functions. Currently, it is thought that under certain, but unknown, genetic and environmental contexts these changes can cause or exacerbate chronic inflammatory diseases. While using probiotics to treat disease seems like an easy solution, both basic and clinical data have demonstrated mixed results. Thus, it is imperative to reexamine probiotics in the complex context of both a healthy and diseased microbiome along with associated factors such as diet.
Probiotics in Disease Prevention and Treatment
Journal of clinical pharmacology, 2018
Few treatments for human diseases have received as much investigation in the past 20 years as probiotics. In 2017, English-language meta-analyses totaling 52 studies determined the effect of probiotics on conditions ranging from necrotizing enterocolitis and colic in infants to constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and hepatic encephalopathy in adults. The strongest evidence in favor of probiotics lies in the prevention or treatment of 5 disorders: necrotizing enterocolitis, acute infectious diarrhea, acute respiratory tract infections, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and infant colic. Probiotic mechanisms of action include the inhibition of bacterial adhesion; enhanced mucosal barrier function; modulation of the innate and adaptive immune systems (including induction of tolerogenic dendritic cells and regulatory T cells); secretion of bioactive metabolites; and regulation of the enteric and central nervous systems. Future research is needed to identify the optimal probiotic and d...
Probiotics and Gut Microbiome Health
Recent years have witnessed the global upsurge in the use of probiotics by people as they realized several health benefits. The health of the gut microbiome contributes to the well-being of the human body and the prevention of some diseases. Probiotics, prebiotics and other beneficial components taken in during a healthy diet help to balance the gut microbiome. The probiotics play a significant role both in the prevention and treatment of stomach and intestinal complaints, mental diseases, COVID-19, cancer, and anemia. Yoghurt is considered as a very good source of probiotics, and it should preferably be consumed in the morning. Probiotics manufactured by several pharmaceuticals, are easily available at the pharmacist's shop, and is usually considered safe when consumed in proper amount. It is found very useful in the patients who are having antibiotic associated diarrhea. Furthermore, it has several other properties including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiallergic, and immunomodulatory. The digestive discomfort has been noticed in a few people. Our manuscript provides an insight into the scientists' recommendations regarding probiotics. These recommendations include research, promotion and application of these beneficial bacteria in healthcare practice. In addition, we highlight the importance of food industry research towards further probiotic food developments, which can complement the treatment of many diseases in a natural way.