Probiotics Health Article

Definition

Probiotics, as defined by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), are "live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a beneficial health effect on the host." The microorganisms referred to in this definition are non-pathogenic bacteria (small, single celled organisms which do not promote or cause disease), and one yeast, Saccharomyces. They are considered "friendly germs," due to benefits to the colon and the immune system. The word probiotic is a compound of a Latin and a Greek word; it means "favorable to life." Probiotics is also sometimes used to refer to a form of nutritional therapy based on eating probiotic foods and dietary supplements. Although probiotic supplements have also been used with farm animals, most are produced for human consumption in the form of dairy products containing two types of microbes—lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. As with the extended use of royal jelly, probiotics are now also being used in face creams and similar cosmetic products.

A new category called prebiotics now also appears in the literature. Prebiotics refer mainly to certain foods, and occasionally to certain food products, that support probiotic microorganism viability, enhancing their survivability. Included among prebiotics are foods such as Jerusalem and regular artichokes, oats, leeks, onions, and whole grain breads or cereals. Examples of prebiotic food products are the Fructooligosaccharides (fructooligo-saccharides, or fruit derived, digestion resistant sugars) (FOS), also in honey, and the galactooligosaccharides (galacto-oligo-saccharides), sugars in galactose-containing foods like goats milk.

Origins

Although the term probiotics is relatively recent, as are science-based investigations, the use of probioticcontaining fermented foods in many cultures of the world predates the advent of refrigeration. The applied notion of improving health by supplementing the natural microflora of the human intestines with additional bacteria taken by mouth goes back to the late nineteenth century. At that time, some physicians attributed sickness and the aging process to a build up of waste products (or, putrefaction) in the colon (the lower part of the large intestine that empties into the rectum), and toxic materials leaking from the colon into the bloodstream. The process of leakage—now referred to as gut permeability or leaky gut syndrome—and the poisoning that resulted from it, were called autointoxication. The autointoxication theory assumed that dietary changes aimed at reducing toxic decomposition in the colon would be beneficial to health. Some observers knew about the use of lactic acid bacteria in sausage-making to ferment the meat and protect it from spoilage. Because these bacteria are harmless to humans, it was thought that adding them to the diet by eating fermented foods would reduce the amount of toxins produced in the colon. The Lactobacilli group of bacteria, some of which are found in yogurt, was the first identified probiotic. In the 1920s and 1930s, many doctors recommended acidophilus milk, which contains the lactobaccili bacterium called Lactobacillus acidophilus, for the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. This treatment was effective for many patients.

The next phase in the development of probiotics came in the 1950s, when medical researchers began to study L. acidophilus as a possible answer to some of the digestive side effects of taking antibiotics. It was known that antibiotic medications upset the natural balance of the intestinal microflora by killing of the beneficial as well as the pathogenic bacteria. The researchers thought that taking oral preparations of L. acidophilus might offset the side effects of the antibiotics.

One of the chief difficulties in benefiting from probiotic supplementation has been assuring survivability of the bacteria as it passes through the acidity of the stomach and the digestive processes of the small intestine and successfully colonizing in the colon. Recently, a new probiotic with exceptional survivability and colonization characteristics, as demonstrated in studies, has emerged. This probiotic, screened from many strains of lactobacilli and named after its co-discoverers, Sherwood Gorbach and Barry Goldin, is known as Lactobacillus GG (LGG). LGG was demonstrated effective against psuedomembranous colitis, an infection of the colon by Clostridium difficile as a result of antibiotic overkill of beneficial bacteria, and against atopic eczema in children due to gut permeability. LGG was demonstrated to have positive results against Candida in mice, as well. Three patents have been awarded on LGG from June 1989 to May 1995. In 1987, a Finnish dairy cooperative, Valio, Ltd., was granted a license to conduct research. About 1992, Valio released a fermented milk product with LGG called Gefilus. In 1996, a division of an American corporation was formed, called CAG Functional Foods, which markets LGG as the product Culturelle. One source reported significant benefit from the use of Culturelle when cultured in milk. Culturelle is currently available only in capsules, but a yogurt product is anticipated to be marketed soon.

Much of the research and marketing of proven probiotics is conducted outside the United States. One such research proven probiotic strain is Lactobacillus plan-tarum 299v. It has been particularly valuable in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and recovery from surgery. It's colonization ability was proven using biopsy. It is not currently available in the United States, but agreements with the makers and distributors of Danon yogurt may change that.

Two proven beneficial strains marketed in the United States are Lactobacillus reuteri, a Swedish product proven effective against diarrhea in children due to a rotavirus (a virus transmitted from feces), available in the Stoneyfield brand of yogurt, and Saccharomyces boulardii, a yeast product available in capsules effective against antibiotic associated diarrhea.