Probiotics benefits on human health gained much importance from last few decades. probiotics benefits in some diseases has adequate scientific evidence and let us discuss them in the following article.
What are Probiotics ?
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts which are consumed as supplements to provide health benefits by restoring or improving intestinal flora of human body.
They gained more importance because they have both, an application on beneficial effects in human health and industrial product development .
They are incorporated into wide variety of foods mainly fermented dairy products. Probiotic microorganisms are widely used in yogurts and other fermented milks. attempts are being made to develop and use non-milk products of probiotics , a number of carriers like including edible spreads and meat for probiotics have been examined recently.
Additionally, new products based on fruits , vegetables and cereals are in the development stages
Extensive research is going on to evaluate their safety and nutritional aspects.
few examples of probiotics are Bifidobacteria , Lactococcus lactis, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Enterococcus faecium, Saccharomyces boulardii etc.
Key characteristics of probiotic microorganisms
Microorganisms classified as probiotic has to prove safety and efficacy under recommended conditions for use in a defined population, methods of application and dosage.
According to Mercenier et al , Kolida et al , and Fric to consider a microorganism as probiotic it have to satisfy the following requirements:
2.Absence of pathogenic characteristics (including production of cyclotoxins and enterotoxins, pathogenic adhesion, serum resistance ,hemolysis, , presence of genes that are resistant to antibiotics)
3.Resistance to bile and gastric juice.
4.Clinical evidence of beneficial health-effects,
5.Ability to adhere to the epithelium of intestine and
6.Safety (without negative effects on the health ).
Probiotics Benefits on human health
1.Stimulation of the immune system,
2.protection against diarrheal diseases ,
3.Nosocomial and Respiratory tract infections,
4.Attenuation of noticeable immunoinflammatory disorders ,
5.Anticancer effects ,
6.Lowering of cholesterol
7.Improving Lactose digestion
8.Treating Inflammatory Bowel disease
Let us discuss Probiotics benefits in detail
Lactose intolerance
The most researched health effect of probiotics is the improvement of lactose digestion and the avoiding intolerance persons with an insufficient activity of β-galactosidase(lactose-cleaving enzyme)in the small intestine.
Fermented milk with probiotics the passes through the stomach get finally deposited in the small intestine to help lactose hydrolysis by its own enzyme .
Additionally, probiotic microbes contain high levels of lactase enzyme , which is released within the lumen of intestine . when these bacteria undergo lysis by bile secretions Lactase then acts on the ingested lactose and enhances lactose absorption .
Antipathogenic activity
Many probiotics produce small molecules to bioactive antimicrobialpeptides which are antipathogenic in nature.
Most of probiotic bacteria produce lactic acid. Lactic acid reduces pH of gut , maintains the microflora of gut and helps in preserving the dairy products.
Probiotics also combat the growth of harmful pathogens like Salmonella and Escherichia coli that causes diarrhea. The probiotics competes for binding sites on the gut epithelium and prevent the attachment of these pathogens .
Lactic Acid Bacteria(LAB) are important in fermented foods for aroma development and ripening of certain cheeses and sausages, especially those produced in the Meditteranean
They are also used as starters in cultures,bioprotective cultures and cocultures in the food industry
In fermented foods, Lactic Acid Bacteria(LAB) produces antimicrobial compounds like bacteriocins, organic acids, and antifungal peptides.
The United States Food and Drug Administration has considered Lactic Acid Bacteria(LAB) as ‘generally regarded as safe’ (GRAS).
Probiotics produce Hydrogen peroxide which has antimicrobial effect. The antimicrobial effect is due to the oxidation of sulfhydryl groups which causes denaturing of enzymes, and from the peroxidation of membrane lipids thus increasing membrane permeability
Probiotics stimulates the host antimicrobial defense pathways by inducing production of proteases that activates defensins(cationic antimicrobial peptides) in the lumen of intestine. Defensins are produced in a number of cell types including Paneth cells in the crypts of the small intestine and intestinal epithelial cells .
Immunomodulatory activity
The innate immune system through toll-like receptors finds a large group of chemical structures in pathogens and lipoteichoic acids which enables them to find foreign objects which activates a cascade of immunological defense mechanisms .
Probiotics influences the immune system by products like cell-wall components (peptidoglycans, lipopolysaccharides) .Meatbolites and DNA.
Probiotics possess immunomodulatory properties through the inhibition of bacterial translocation, stimulation of macrophages/phagocytes and NK cells (natural killer cells), increased release of cytokines , increased proliferation in organs of the immune system(Peyer´s patches spleen) and .
Hypocholesterolaemic effects
If consumed as a part of a normal daily nutrition probiotics reduces high cholesterol levels (hypercholesteremia ) in blood.
Most of the research was carried out but the real factor responsible for a reduction in cholesterol levels is unknown .
Several mechanisms were hypothesized, which include assimilation of cholesterol by probiotics , enzymatic deconjugation of bile acids by bile-salt hydrolase of probiotics, co-precipitation of cholesterol with deconjugated bile, incorporation of cholesterol into the cellular membranes of probiotics resulting in conversion of cholesterol into coprostanol .
Prevention of inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease is characterized by abnormal narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract , ulceration and inflammation resulting in diarrhea ,gastrointestinal bleeding and abdominal pain.
Probiotic intake relieves IBD symptoms either through regulation of the inflammatory response, improving barrier function to prevent the invasion of tight junctions or modulation of gut micro-oraganisms composition and/or activity .
Cancer prevention
Antimutagenicity,Antigenotoxicity and Anticarcinogenicity are important properties of probiotics .
Cancer preventing properties are accredited to probiotic bacteria in fermented milk products.
Several mechanisms have been suggested as a cause of these effects and have been investigated in vitro and invivo experiments:
Inhibition of tumor-growth and proliferation of tumor cells by cytotoxic metabolites and glycopeptides of lactobacilli, reduction of carcinogenic, genotoxic . mutagenic substances and cancer promoting enzymes in the colon due to modifications of the gut microbiota, chemical modification and a decrease in pH .
It is very crucial to note that health benefits due to probiotics are strain specific, and not species- or genus-specific. So, no probiotic strain will provide all benefits and not even the strains of same species .
List of Probiotic bacteria used in commercial products..
Bifidobacterium longum BB536 Snow Brand Milk Products, Japan
Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 Danone, France
Lactobacillus paracasei CRL431 Chr. Hansen, USA
Lactobacillus casei F19 Arla Food, Denmark
Lactobacillus acidophilus 145 Danlac, Canada
Bifidobacterium animalis spp. lactis Bb12 Chr. Hansen, USA
Lactobacillus casei Shirota Yakult, Japan
Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 Danisco, France
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Valio, Finland
Lactobacillus johnsonii LA1 (NCC 533) Nestlé, Switzerland
Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010 Danone, France
Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 Chr. Hansen, USA
Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM Danisco, France
Lactococcus lactis L1A Essum AB, Sweden
Proven Probiotics benefits on human health.
Bifidobacteria - Benefits on human health
1.Bifidobacterium breve
- Activates the humoral immunity by augmenting anti-rotavirus IgA production oranti-influenza virus.
- It attaches to human epithelial cells of intestine and inhibits enteropathogen-cell interactions.
2.Bifidobacterium bifidum
- Compete with pathogenic or putrefactive bacteria. for space and nutrients
- Reduces the diarrhea.
- Increases seroconversion rates and antibody responses
- Secretes acetic and lactic acids and inhibits the development of invasive pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Candida spp.
- Prevents infectious diarrhea through a protective effect, seen as reduced shedding of rotavirus
3.Bifidobacterium animalis
- Normalizes the intestinal motility of subjects with obstipation.
- Reduces the risk of acute diarrhea in adults and children
- Lactobacilli- Benefits on human health
Lactobacillus - Benefits on human health
1.Lactobacillus casei Shirota
- Reduces nasal symptom-medication.
- Possesses the strongest human health efficacy with respect to management of lactose absorption, antibiotic-associated diarrhea and Clostridium difficile diarrhea. rotaviral diarrhea.
2.Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG
- Decreased duration of diarrhea induced by erythromycin.
- In milk-hypertensive subjects it downregulates the immunoinflammatory response.
- Remediates the inflammatory conditions by modulation of gastrointestinal microbiota.
3.Lactobacillus casei
- Reduces the duration and severity of diarrhea.
- Stimulates the gut immune system , alleviate the symptoms of Crohn’s diseaseand have strong antimicrobial properties
Yeasts- Benefits on human health
1.Saccharomyces cerevisiae Boulardii
- Prevents traveler’s diarrhea.
- Prevents the development of enterocolitis and colitis of pathogenic origin
- Reduces the duration and risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
- Affects Clostridium difficile or antibiotic-associated diarrhea by altering the intestinal microbiota in a healthy mode.
Final words :
There is scientific proof supporting the incorporation of probiotics in nutrition as a means of derivation of health benefits. This proof seems adequate concerning the prevention and treatment of certain conditions while simply promising or even controversial when it comes to others.
The development of probiotics for human consumption is still in its early stage.
Further extensive research is needed in the form of controlled human studies to determine for which patients which probiotics at what dosages are associated with the greatest efficacy
Research is going on regarding evaluation of their safety and limitations.There is no doubt that we will witness a tremendous increase in the role of probiotics in medicine and nutrition over the next decade and while their application in the treatment of different disorders should be considered by medical professionals only.
Article Authored by :
Imroz.S.M , M.pharm(Pharmaceutics)
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