ABSTRACT
Probiotics were rst conceptualized by the Nobel Laureate Elie Metchniko at the turn of twentieth century in Russia. He believed that the fermenting bacillus (now known as Lactobacillus) contained in the fermented milk products consumed by Bulgarian peasants positively inuenced the microora of colon and decreased toxemia. Positive eects associated with probiotics include cholesterol and/ or triglyceride reduction, antitumor properties, improved lactose tolerance and stimulation of immune system via nonpathogenic means, and increase in natural resistance to infectious disease of GIT (Collins and Gibson 1999). e term probiotic means “for life” was dened by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as “microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a benecial health eect on the host” (FAO/WHO 2001, pp. 1-34).
