ABSTRACT
Historically, Charaka Samhita supposedly wrote a treatise on ayurvedic medicine around 1000 bce in which he referred to the benecial microbial ora of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) as “jataragni” (re in the stomach), the sustaining force of all living beings, and referred to “takra,” that is, fermented milk, as “amrita” or elixir. It has now been established that the Lactobacillus strain stabilizes the healthy intestinal ora and destroys the pathogenic strains present therein. More than 100 years ago, Elie Metchnikoff (1907) was the rst to propose a scientic rationale for the role of lactobacilli in maintaining health and longevity.1 The term probiotic dates to 1965 when Lilly and Stilwell rst used it to describe any substance or organism that contributes to the intestinal microbial balance, and Fuller in 1989 further emphasized its role in health.2,3A probiotic is dened as a viable microbial dietary supplement that benecially affects the host through its effects in the intestinal tract (Figure 18.1).4-8 The most commonly used probiotics mainly come from two genera: Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (Table 18.1). At present, probiotics are almost exclusively consumed as fermented dairy products, such as yogurt or freezedried cultures, but in the future they may also be found in fermented vegetables and meats.9 Novel modes of therapeutic and prophylactic interventions may include the consumption of probiotics either alone or in combination with prebiotics.
