Probiotics and Prebiotics
Longer version of article from Reference Section:
The cost of pharmaceuticals continues to rise while, at the same time, some medical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and recurrent Clostridium (C.) difficile colitis lack effective and safe approaches for treatment or prevention at any cost. Moreover, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led, in some cases, to a reduction in their potency and efficiency. Probiotics and prebiotics have been considered as potentially inexpensive and safe intervention approaches that can be formulated into specialized foods, supplements, or pharmaceuticals that can in turn contribute to solving some of these health concerns. The health benefits and efficacy of probiotics and prebiotics are currently attracting much attention and research. They span a broad range, including improved gut performance, immune function, and mineral bioavailability.
In food form, probiotics and prebiotics appeal to people interested in staying healthy, managing a health concern or reducing disease risk. Such 'functional foods' are part of a dietary approach to prophylactically managing health disorders in a way that is both user-friendly and attractive to the consumer. Adding beneficial live microbes (probiotics) or using non-digested food stuffs selective for beneficial indigenous microbes (prebiotics) is gaining much popularity and credibility. Current marketing strategies for functional foods target improved resistance to various conditions, including:
• infections;
• IBS;
• chronic gut disorder (inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colon cancer);
• lactose intolerance;
• coronary heart disease;
• recurrent vaginal thrush;
• skin problems;
• food allergy; and
• mineral bioavailability.
Probiotics
Probiotics are live micro-organisms administered in adequate amounts that confer a beneficial health effect on the host.1 Although it is common to see assertions in the literature that probiotics 'must' meet certain criteria—such as being of human origin, adhering to intestinal cells, or improving the balance of the gut flora—it is worthwhile to recognize that these do limit the scope of probiotics as defined previously and are based more on what seems self-evident rather than on scientific validity. Although some past definitions of probiotics have included some of these criteria, scientific evidence is lacking to relevantly measure their significance in humans. Suffice to say, the criteria deemed necessary for a microbe to be considered a probiotic are simple:
