Probiotic

Probiotics are live microorganisms intended to provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut flora. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria-host interactions and unwanted side effects in rare cases. Probiotics are live microorganisms intended to provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut flora. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria-host interactions and unwanted side effects in rare cases. The original theory, similar to the modern concept, but not the term, is generally attributed to Nobel laureate Élie Metchnikoff, who postulated that yoghurt-consuming Bulgarian peasants lived longer lives because of that custom. In 1907, he wrote: 'he dependence of the intestinal microbes on the food makes it possible to adopt measures to modify the microbiota in our bodies and to replace the harmful microbes by useful microbes.' A growing probiotics market has led to the need for stricter requirements for scientific substantiation of putative benefits conferred by microorganisms claimed to be probiotic. Although numerous claimed benefits are marketed towards using consumer probiotic products, such as reducing gastrointestinal discomfort, improving immune health, relieving constipation, or avoiding the common cold, such claims are not supported by scientific evidence, and are prohibited as deceptive advertising in the United States by the Federal Trade Commission. As of 2019, numerous applications for approval of health claims by European manufacturers of probiotic dietary supplements have been rejected by the European Food Safety Authority for insufficient evidence of beneficial mechanism or efficacy. In a clinical setting, some probiotics have been found to be useful in treating antibiotic-associated diarrhea in children and Clostridium difficile infection in adults. An October 2001 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) defines probiotics as live microorganisms that, 'when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.' Following this definition, a working group convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/WHO in May 2002 issued the Guidelines for the Evaluation of Probiotics in Food. A consensus definition of the term probiotics, based on available information and scientific evidence, was adopted after the aforementioned joint expert consultation between the FAO of the United Nations and the WHO. This effort was accompanied by local governmental and supragovernmental regulatory bodies' requirements to better characterize health claims substantiations. That first global effort was further developed in 2010; two expert groups of academic scientists and industry representatives made recommendations for the evaluation and validation of probiotic health claims. The same principles emerged from those two groups as were expressed in the 'Guidelines' of FAO/WHO in 2002. This definition, though widely adopted, is not acceptable to the European Food Safety Authority because it embeds a health claim that is not measurable. A group of scientific experts assembled in London on October 23, 2013, to discuss the scope and appropriate use of the term 'probiotic'. That meeting was motivated by developments in the field that followed the formation of the 2001 definition, and the panel's conclusions were published in June 2014. Live probiotic cultures are part of fermented dairy products, other fermented foods, and probiotic-fortified foods. Some fermented products that contain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) include: vegetables such as pickled vegetables, kimchi, pao cai, and sauerkraut; soy products such as tempeh, miso, and soy sauce; and dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, and buttermilk.