Probiotics: An Emerging Therapy

Abstract

There is considerable clinical interest in the utility of probiotic therapy--the feeding of (live) non-pathogenic bacteria, originally derived from the alimentary tract, for disease treatment or health promotion. The microflora of the gastrointestinal tract is essential for mucosal protection, for immune education and for metabolism of fecal residue. Physiological disturbances of these processes, when they occur, result from: i) alteration of a microbial ecosystem, originally conserved by evolution; ii) reduced consumption of microorganisms; iii) invasion of pathogens; or iv) modern interventions. Recent data support the use of proven probiotic organisms in prevention and treatment of flora-related gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease, infectious and antibiotic related diarrheas, and post-resection disorders including pouchitis. Therapeutic activity of probiotic bacteria can be due to competition with pathogens for nutrients and mucosal adherence, production of antimicrobial substances, and modulation of mucosal immune functions. Although a promising treatment, controlled clinical trials are necessary to validate the benefit of probiotics.

Culture-Independent Analyses of Temporal Variation of the Dominant Fecal Microbiota and Targeted Bacterial Subgroups in Crohn's Disease

“…and the lactic acid bacteria spp. (which have been commonly used as probiotics and have immunomodulatory activity [6,43]), from Crohn's disease patients in remission and relapse and compare their DGGE species profiles to a those for a control group.…”

Effects of direct-fed microbial supplementation on digestibility and fermentation end-products in horses fed low- and high-starch concentrates1

“…The host obtains from the normal flora certain nutritional benefits (e.g. water-soluble vitamins and amino acids), stimulation of the immune system, and exclusion of pathogens (O'Sullivan et al, 2005;Todar, 2005).…”

Effects of Enterococcus faecium and Bacillus cereus var. toyoi on the morphology of the intestinal mucous membrane in piglets

“…The use of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the intestinal tract in humans (Fuller, 1989;Gorbach, 2000;Marteau & Seksik, 2001;O'Sullivan et al, 2005) and animals (Reuter, 2001;Ghabdan, 2002), especially pigs (Herich et al, 1999;Melin & Wallgren, 2002;Jadamus et al, 2002;Vahjen et al, 2002;Scharek et al, 2005) has become increasingly popular with the knowledge of problems associated with antibiotic use as feed additives (Bengmark, 2000). The benefit of probiotics on the host's intestinal tract is well established (Bocourt et al, 2004;Gibson, 2004;Huang et al, 2004;Marteau et al, 2004), however our knowledge about their mode of action and their influence on the morphology of the intestinal tract is very limited (Jahn, et al, 1996;Görke, 2000;Baum et al, 2002).…”