Probiotics 101: What They Are and Why They Matter

What Are Probiotics?

By improving the internal microbial balance, probiotics—live beneficial bacteria—are ingested through food or water and help to promote good health. For healthy individuals of all ages, probiotics are usually regarded as harmless. Probiotics are bacteria or yeast-based products that are regulated as both foods and supplements. They are found in a variety of fermented foods, most notably dairy drinks and yogurt, and can be purchased in capsules, pills, packets, or powders. A single bacterium or a combination of many species may be included in probiotic goods.

Who used the term Probiotic for the first time?

The first probiotic, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, was discovered in yogurt in 1905 by Bulgarian researcher Stamen Grigorov. The contemporary notion is largely credited to Élie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel laureate, who proposed in 1907 that Bulgarian peasants who ate yogurt lived longer. Werner Kollath coined the term “probiotic” in 1953. It is derived from the Latin word pro and the Greek word βιo, which means “for life.” According to Kollath, probiotics are living organisms that play vital roles in supporting a range of health outcomes.

Which Microbial Genera Are Used as Probiotics?

When identifying probiotics, the genus, species, subspecies (if any), and alphanumeric strain names are considered. Probiotic products typically contain bacteria from seven core genera: Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Escherichia, and Bacillus.

The often utilized strains include members of the diverse group of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, which have a substantial impact on health through a variety of mechanisms.

Probiotics vs. Prebiotics vs. Synbiotics

It is important to distinguish probiotics from prebiotics, which are usually complex carbohydrates (like inulin and other fructooligosaccharides) that are used as fuel by gastrointestinal tract microbes. To increase the balance of beneficial microbes, prebiotics are utilized. Whole grains, bananas, onions, greens, soybeans, garlic, and artichokes are among the foods that contain prebiotics.

Synbiotics are commercial products that contain both probiotic microbes and prebiotic carbohydrates. Furthermore, by definition, probiotics do not include goods that include dead microbes or that are produced by microorganisms, such as polysaccharides, proteins, nucleotides, and peptides.

What are the key characteristics of Probiotics?

The 1980s saw the introduction of several essential probiotic qualities, such as

(a) Strains that have a positive effect,

(b) Non-toxic, non-allergic, and non-pathogenic,

(c) Readily available as live cells in huge quantities,

 (d) Appropriate for the gut environment, and

 (e) Both stable and storable.

How Do Probiotics Work?

Probiotics are thought to work through a variety of methods, such as gut immunomodulation, neurotransmitter production, intestinal mucosal barrier enhancement, and competitive exclusion of pathogens for adhesion sites.

There are numerous reasons why the equilibrium of gut flora can be upset. These include aging, antibiotic use, conditions including inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome, or after a stomach surgery or attack of food poisoning (gastroenteritis). Numerous probiotics can support the body’s normal functioning in a variety of ways and help to restore the balance of gut bacteria.

Bacteriocins, lysozymes, proteases, siderophores, and hydrogen peroxides are produced by probiotic bacteria, which prevent the growth of dangerous pathogens. Clostridium species, Aeromonasspecies, Bacteridaceae, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Staphylococcus species all produce amylase, while B. subtilis, L. plantarum, and Staphylococcus species produce protease and cellulase enzymes. Additionally, probiotics strengthen the immune system’s ability to combat infections.

Mechanisms of action of Probiotics:

The intestinal microbiota may be impacted by probiotics, which typically have an impact on the gastrointestinal system. Probiotics can colonize the human gut mucosa in highly tailored ways based on the gastrointestinal tract location, probiotic strain, and baseline microbiota.

Probiotics also have health-promoting benefits through nonspecific, species-specific, and strain-specific pathways.

•  The nonspecific mechanisms of popular probiotic supplements vary greatly across strains, species, and taxa. These mechanisms include the production of bioactive metabolites (such as short-chain fatty acids), the reduction of luminal pH in the colon, and the inhibition of pathogenic microorganism growth in the gastrointestinal tract (by promoting colonization resistance, improving intestinal transit, or assisting in the restoration of a disturbed microbiota).
• Species-specific mechanisms include vitamin production, bile salt metabolism, gut barrier reinforcement, enzyme activity, and toxin neutralization.
• Strain-specific mechanisms, such as cytokine production, immunomodulation, and effects on the endocrine and neurological systems, are unique to a single species and used by only a few strains. Probiotics can alter human health and illness in a variety of ways, using all of these strategies.

What are the Probiotic Foods?

Foods that might contain probiotics include:

• Milk-based or nondairy-based yogurt and fermented milk beverages called kefir
• Fermented cabbage, or sauerkraut
• Fermented vegetables and kimchi
• Tempeh, a fermented soybean product that’s frequently used in place of meat
• Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans.
• Soy beverages, such as some soy milk
• Cottage cheese, a curdled milk product
• Kombucha is a tea, sugar, yeast, and bacteria-fermented beverage
• Pickles and their juice (not vinegar, but water-brined)

What are the health benefits of probiotics?

Probiotics may be utilized as an adjuvant in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol because of their capacity to alter gut flora and weaken the immune system. Probiotics’ benefits include regulating the gut flora, reducing lactose intolerance and other dietary intolerances, increasing the bioavailability of macro and micronutrients, and reducing allergic reactions in vulnerable people.

What are the challenges that the use of probiotics could face?

The greatest challenge facing probiotics in the food sector is their vulnerability to gastrointestinal (GI) stressors and processing conditions. Nonetheless, the consumer consistently demonstrated a propensity for probiotic goods due to their health benefits. Probiotics may now survive the harsh circumstances of processing and gastrointestinal stressors in the body thanks to novel and creative techniques like genetic manipulation and nanoencapsulation.

References

1. Williams, N. T. (2010). Probiotics. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 67(6), 449-458.
2. Soccol, C. R., Vandenberghe, L. D. S., Spier, M. R., Medeiros, A. B. P., Yamaguishi, C. T., Lindner, J. D. D., … & Thomaz-Soccol, V. (2010). The potential of probiotics: a review.
3. Kechagia, M., Basoulis, D., Konstantopoulou, S., Dimitriadi, D., Gyftopoulou, K., Skarmoutsou, N., & Fakiri, E. M. (2013). Health benefits of probiotics: a review. International Scholarly Research Notices, 2013(1), 481651.
4. Islam, S. U. (2016). Clinical uses of probiotics. Medicine, 95(5), e2658.
5. Sanders, M. E., Merenstein, D., Merrifield, C. A., & Hutkins, R. (2018). Probiotics for human use. Nutrition bulletin, 43(3), 212-225.
6. Mazziotta, C., Tognon, M., Martini, F., Torreggiani, E., & Rotondo, J. C. (2023). Probiotics mechanism of action on immune cells and beneficial effects on human health. Cells, 12(1), 184.