Published : 2017-08-21

PROBIOTICS AND HEALTH - TODAY AND TOMORROW

Dominika Winiarz

Kamila Domańska

Kinga Paluch

Dorota Dorota Skrajnowska

Abstract

Probiotics are being used worldwide and are increasingly gaining in popularity. Probiotics are available in foods, as dietary supplements and as drugs (capsules, tablets, pills and powders). Probiotics are microorganisms with potential health benefits. They may be used to prevent and treat antibiotic-associated diarrhea and acute infectious diarrhea. They may also be effective in relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and in treating atopic dermatitis in children. Species commonly used include Lactobacillus sp., Bifidobacterium sp., Streptococcus thermophilus, and Saccharomyces. Probiotic strains, which are selected from wild strains, have to possess certain qualities such as: being competitive against pathogens, synthesizing appropriate metabolic products and having the ability to adhere. Probiotic strains also have to show properties that allow them to be safe to use as well as render them resistant to conditions occurring during the production processes and in the human gastrointestinal tract. Conversely, the production processes used in the preparation of probiotics have to be adjusted to maintain acceptable survival rates of bacteria. To stimulate the growth of probiotic bacteria, prebiotics are used. Synbiotics are a combination of pro- and prebiotics. Pharmabiotics are a particular kind of probiotics, modified using genetic engineering to achieve desirable traits, either functional or technological. The positive effect of probiotics on the immune system is unquestionable. However, in view of individual reports on their adverse reactions (bacterial infections, fungemia, anaphylactic symptoms), their use in some patients is contraindicated. When using probiotics, it is necessary to rely on the results of well-designed clinical trials, not on advertisements. Currently, in view of a lack of solid health and nutritional data, the use of probiotics continues to rely on health claims made by the manufacturers. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence-based up-to-date information on the use of probiotics for the treatment and/or prevention of various disorders.

Keywords:

probiotics, definition of a probiotic, health effects of the use of probiotics, safety of probiotics therapy


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Winiarz, D., Domańska, K., Paluch, K., & Dorota Skrajnowska, D. (2017). PROBIOTICS AND HEALTH - TODAY AND TOMORROW. Prospects in Pharmaceutical Sciences, 15(10), 86–94. https://doi.org/10.56782/pps.82

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Editorial Team
Stefana Banacha 1
02-097 Warsaw, Poland
biuletynfarmacji@wum.edu.pl
Publisher:
Medical University of Warsaw
ul. Żwirki i Wigury 61
02-091 Warszawa

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