ABSTRACT
Maintenance of normal intestinal flora and improved digestion are benefits generally
ascribed to existing probiotics. Different bacterial strains are being investigated for their
therapeutic potential to treat inflammatory bowel disease, inhibit pathogenic bacteria,
ameliorate diarrhea of various etiologies, prevent dental caries, and reduce allergy. It is
postulated that probiotic bacteria have a role in immune modulation and suppression of
carcinogenesis. While research has concentrated on probiotics to modulate intestinal
flora, recent studies have sought to restore the vaginal and urinary ecology, either
indirectly after ingestion or by topical application.[1]
Probiotic organisms are commonly from the genera Lactobacillus and
Bifidobacterium, strains of Enterococcus and Saccharomyces species being among the
exceptions. Members of these genera are generally regarded as safe because they have
a long history of use as dairy starters, which, unlike probiotics, are not specifically adapted
to survive in the gastrointestinal tract. They have rarely been associated with disease,
usually as opportunistic infections in people with predisposing conditions.[2,3]
Many of the organisms to which we ascribe probiotic effects have had their origins
in dairy products and the manufacture of fermented foods. Thus they have been consumed
as constituents of these products for centuries with no apparent adverse effects. Probiotics
consumed in foods and dietary supplements are accorded a generally recognized as safe
status (GRAS) and do not have to comply with more rigorous guidelines for probiotics,
which claim amelioration or prevention of disease in clinical applications. “History of
safe use” as a criterion for the safety of food organisms is an arbitrary classification,
and food organisms claiming this status have not been defined previously.
