Probiotics in clinical conditions

Abstract

Probiotics are nonpathogenic microorganisms which, when ingested, exert a positive influence on the health or physiology of the host. Their mechanisms of action and effects are now studied using the same pharmacological approach as for drugs. This article summarizes and comments on evidence for the positive effects of probiotics in various clinical situations. Substantial evidence can be achieved when randomized controlled trials or meta-analyses show positive results. The clinical situations studied include prevention or treatment of antibiotic-associated disorders, gastroenteritis, and diarrhea, lactose intolerance, intestinal infections and colonization by pathogenic bacteria (including Helicobacter pylori and Clostridium difficile), traveler's diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colonic cancer, urogenital infections and tumors, allergy (especially atopic eczema), vaccination, and cholesterol lowering. Current probiotics have an excellent safety record--another topic discussed in this article.

Bifidobacterium bifidum in probiotic Edam cheese: influence on cheese ripening

“…The therapeutic roles of bifidobacteria in animal models and in human beings are due to four major mechanisms including modulation of the host immune system (Saavedra and Tschernia 2002), resistance to infectious diseases caused by rotavirus and other enteropathogens (Shu et al 2001), control of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and pouchitis (Marteau 2002) and prevention of cancer (Yazakawa et al 2001;Li et al 2003).…”

Infant intestinal Enterococcus faecalis down-regulates infl ammatory responses in human intestinal cell lines

“…The role of gastrointestinal microflora, such as several strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in priming the immune system during ontogeny to limit allergy and chronic inflammatory responses has been brought to attention in recent years [1,2] . Clinical and experimental studies have put forward that gastrointestinal microflora is essential for maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, and their influence may extend beyond the gut, modifying systemic immunity.…”

PCR for Screening Potential Probiotic Lactobacilli for Piglets

“…Adhesive strains isolated from faeces could be released to the lumen during the renewal of mucus. Different adhesive abilities between faecal and mucosal strains could be also explained if is considered that microbiota in the intestine differs from that in faeces (Marteau, 2002). Moreover, adhesive properties are strain-dependent and differences exist even if strains were isolated from the same source (Kinoshita et al, 2007).…”