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Dairy Council Digest Archives
Probiotics: Considerations for Human Health
Introduction
Over the past decade, there has been considerable progress in identifying potentially beneficial roles for probiotics in human health (1). Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts that confer a health effect on the host” (2). Interest in the role of probiotics for human health dates back to the beginning of the 20th century (1908) when the Nobel Prize winning Russian scientist, Elie Metchnikoff, linked the long, healthy life of Bulgarian peasants to their high intake of fermented milk products containing lactic acid producing microorganisms (2,3). He theorized that the lactic acid bacteria in fermented milk displace undesirable bacteria normally present in the intestine, resulting in a healthier life. In recent years, there has been a plethora of published scientific studies examining the health attributes of probiotics, especially those related to gastrointestinal health and immune system modulation.
Although interest in probiotics (health-promoting bacteria) dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, only in recent years has considerable progress been made in identifying their potentially beneficial roles in human health.
The human gastrointestinal tract contains an extremely complex and diverse microbial population of more than 400 different species of bacteria. While the majority of these bacteria are non-pathogenic, some may potentially cause disease. In healthy individuals, there is a balance of bacteria. Disrupting this balance in the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., by stress, infection, antibiotic therapy) can lead to proliferation of undesirable or pathogenic microbes and increased risk of clinical disorders such as inflammatory diseases, infectious illnesses, and others (4). Increasing scientific evidence indicates that consumption of probiotics can help maintain a healthy microbial population, resulting in several therapeutic benefits (5,6).
For a microorganism to achieve probiotic status, it must have a demonstrable benefit for the host, be alive when administered, and be non-pathogenic (2,3,5). The majority of probiotics are strains of different species of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (1,4). In the U.S., food products containing probiotic bacteria are almost exclusively dairy products, such as yogurt, Sweet Acidophilus ® milk, kefir, and some cottage cheeses (2,3,7). Yogurt is the most popular dairy product containing probiotics (7). In addition to the yogurt starter bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus , probiotics such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacteria, are frequently added to yogurt to confer unique characteristics (7). Dairy foods containing probiotics are a major and growing segment of the world’s market for functional foods (i.e., foods fortified with ingredients capable of producing health benefits) (8,9).
Probiotics should not be confused with prebiotics or synbiotics. Prebiotics are non-living, non-digestible food ingredients such as oligosaccharides (e.g., inulin) that stimulate the growth or activity of health-promoting lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (1,5,10). A synbiotic is a combination of prebiotics and probiotics (10). This combination can have an additive or synergistically beneficial effect on the host by improving the survival and/or persistance of the probiotic in the intestinal tract.
This Digest reviews potential health benefits of probiotics and discusses factors influencing probiotics’ effects in various disorders, as well as the benefits of dairy foods as probiotic delivery vehicles. For more information about probiotics (as well as prebiotics and synbiotics), readers are referred to numerous reviews (1-7,11-25), proceedings of symposia (26-28), and books on this topic (29,30). Also, a Web site, http://www.usprobiotics.org , provides up-to-date information on probiotics and dairy foods in the U.S.
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