Probiotics were originally introduced as the opposite of antibiotics, living microorganisms consumed to restore the microbiota that we lost after antibiotic treatments. A probiotic is a living microorganism which provide a health benefit to the host and promote gut health when administered in adequate amounts. A probiotic can strengthen the immune system, prevent infection with pathogens, compensate an unhealthy change in our microbiota or an infection by shortening the time of recovery for our microbiome, and even provide extra energy via more short chain fatty acids.
They provide hope in treating lactose intolerance, infections and post-antibiotic diarrhea, immunomodulation for allergies and chronic bowel inflammatory diseases. The biggest challenge is to make them to reach intestine alive, surviving the storage and the acidic medium of our stomach, and delivering the desired concentration in the end (which is strain dependent). We are aiming for 10 at the 7th colony forming units pre milliliter of product. Lactobacillus and bifidobacteria are the most used antibiotics.
Bifidobacterium
Tomorrow i will talk a bit about synbiotics. Have a nice day!
G.
