ABSTRACT
Recent advances claim the benecial effects of probiotics and prebiotics on human intestinal health. There are a signicant upsurge in research on the characterization and verication of the potential health benets associated with their use. The term probiotic is dened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benet on the host” (FAO/WHO, 2002), while the term prebiotics is dened as nondigestible food ingredients that benecially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacterial species already resident in the colon (Gibson and Roberfroid, 1995). At the present time, main prebiotics described are dietary
20.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 363 20.2 Probiotics ...................................................................................................................................... 364
20.2.1 Denition ......................................................................................................................... 364 20.2.2 Probiotic Microorganisms ............................................................................................... 365 20.2.3 Health Benecial Effects of Probiotics ........................................................................... 366
20.2.3.1 Diseases Associated with Immune System ..................................................... 366 20.2.3.2 Probiotic for Treatment of Diarrhea ................................................................ 368
20.3 Prebiotics ...................................................................................................................................... 370 20.3.1 Denition ......................................................................................................................... 370 20.3.2 Sources ............................................................................................................................ 370 20.3.3 Technologies and Synthesis ..............................................................................................371
