Health benefits of probiotics for the elderly: a review

Abstract

Age‐related changes in the gut microflora appear to involve a reduction in numbers of beneficial bacteria such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, and an increase in numbers of potentially harmful species. Such changes are generally perceived as unhealthy, and have been linked to increased frailty, gastrointestinal disorders and infections. This has prompted investigations into probiotic benefits for this age group. This paper reviews probiotics in general, with particular focus on the latest research relevant to elderly people, e.g. trials examining functional bowel problems (constipation and irritable bowel syndrome), stimulation of the immune system and improved resistance to winter infections, norovirus, antibiotic‐associated diarrhoea and Clostridium difficile. A growing body of research indicates that certain probiotics may help to maintain the health of elderly people, suggesting both health and cost‐saving benefits in offering fermented dairy products to patients or residents in hospital wards, as well as nursing and care homes.

Exploring the relationship between exposure to technological and gastrointestinal stress and probiotic functional properties of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria

“…This may be achieved by the production of organic acids or short-chain fatty acids, which lower the gut pH, and the production of antimicrobial agents such as bacteriocins, thus making the gut more favourable to beneficial bacteria such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria and, consequently, less favourable to pathogenic microorganisms (Baker et al 2009). …”

“…GALT is the largest lymphoid tissue in the human body and contains various cells of the immune system, which interact with intestinal microorganisms. Metabolites, cell wall components, and DNA of probiotic microorganisms are recognized by host cells that are sensitive to them, e.g., tolllike receptors, and the activation of these receptors leads to modulation of pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, i.e., downregulation of inflammatory and allergic responses (Baker et al 2009;Wohlgemuth et al 2010). …”

Development of probiotic products for nutritional requirements of specific human populations

“…Another common finding in the elderly population is a chronic subclinical inflammatory status associated with an immune dysfunction, called immunosenescence, which makes this group more susceptible to infections, chronic inflammation disorders and cancer [27,28]. The development of nutritional strategies to promote healthy ageing are therefore essential and the field of functional foods, and more specifically the role of probiotics in ageing, represents a promising area of study [29,30]. Probiotic supplementation, in the case of the elderly, should be addressed considering three main targets: modulation of the gut microbiota to counteract the decline in the number of beneficial bacteria during ageing, modulation of the immune system minimizing the imbalance in the immunological functions and regulation of bowel function which is commonly affected in the elderly (Table 1).…”

Clostridium difficile and Probiotics

“…Probiotics could reverse multi-drug resistance. This recent development has elicited diverse research [4][5][6][7][8][9]. This review attempts to consider the effectiveness of probiotics in combatting Clostridium difficile, an opportunistic microorganism.…”