Health benefits of probiotics

Examples of Recent Documented Health Benefits of Probiotics in Human Clinical Trials... 

Goldin, B. R. (1998). Health benefits of probiotics. British Journal of Nutrition, 80, 203-207. 

Chapman CM, Gibson GR, Rowland I. Health benefits of probiotics are mixtures more effective than single strains Eur J Nutr. 2011 50 (1) 1-17. 

VasUjevic, T., Shah, N. P. (2007). Fermented milk health benefits beyond probiotic effect. In Y. H. Hui (Ed.), Handbook of food products manufacturing (pp. 99-115). Hoboken John Wiley Sons, Inc.. 

The probiotic properties of kefir and the health benefits of coconut water imite to form coconut water kefir. More research on coconut water kefir, its properties and its applications will provide an in-depth knowledge of this potentially useful health drink. It will also help in understanding its use to derive disease-curing drugs. 

Probiotics are live microorganisms that improve the health status of the host, and exert their effects primarily in the intestinal tract. A broad range of applications of probiotic cultures has emerged, and the application of probiotic cultures is restricted only by the ability of the cultures to survive in the different food types. Probiotic bacteria in the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are most commonly used. The most important and well-documented health benefits of these genera are their effects on lactose digestion, intestinal microbial balance and dysfunction, immune modulation, hypersensitivity, carcinogenesis, and blood cholesterol levels. 

A Nutraceutical is any substance that is a food or a part of a food and provides medical or health benefits. Nutraceutical products are also known as functional foods. Inulin-containing foods have long been known to be beneficial for health. Inulin is fermented in the colon, selectively altering the microflora present (Gibson et al., 1995). Bifidobacteria, a genus considered to have health-promoting properties, displaces a number of undesirable microbes. Inulin is a component of many probiotic food supplements (see Section 6.1.3). 

A number of health benefits attributed to Jerusalem artichoke tubers in human and animal diets are related to its role as a promoter of probiotic activity in the large intestine. Probiotics have been a dietary element for thousands of years. However, the term probiotic only gained its current usage... 

The demand for healthy foods has led to the development of several entirely new healthy ingredient and additive categories (Heasman and Mellentin 2001 Sloan 2004). An entirely new sector of functional food ingredients has developed, including products such as omega-3 fatty acids and phytosterols for cardiovascular health, prebiotics and probiotics for gut health, antioxidants, polyphenols and phytochemicals, and bioactive peptides. The established vitamins and minerals sector has also benefited from this functional food trend, with more and more products being fortified with beneficial vitamins and minerals. 

Although there are numerous probiotic products for human consumption on the market, there is a lot of skepticism regarding their beneficial effects. This has in part been due to some reports of their positive health benefits that have been published with little scientific backup. Furthermore, many of the microorganisms included in these products are not viable and have not been selected either for specific beneficial properties or for their ability to survive in the GI tract. If health claims regarding probiotic bacteria are to be substantiated, it is imperative to establish which strains have been used and from which source they have been obtained. 

Although progress in probiotic research has been achieved, not all of the available probiotic bacteria on the market have adequate scientific documentation. If nutritional and health benefits are to be derived from products containing probiotic bacteria, the mechanisms by which these benefits are derived should be understood and those strains demonstrating the most promise in this regard should be used. Consequently, it is necessary to establish rational criteria for screening and selection of candidate microorganisms and also to evaluate the efficacy of the selected strains or food products in well-controlled human dietetic or clinical trials. 

Dextran is synthesized from sucrose by certain lactic acid bacteria, the best-known being Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Streptococcus mutans. Dextran is also formed by the probiotic Lactobacillus brevis to create the crystals of tibicos or water kefir-fermented beverage with reported health benefits. 

Probiotics have been considered bioactive living cells, that is, microorganisms that can confer human health benefits and well-being when they are consumed alive and frequently. However, these microorganisms are very sensitive to many factors, because of that, they are inherently unstable. Therefore, microencapsulation has been used as an alternative to protect these microorganisms and to release them in their site of action (Favaro-Trindade et al., 2011). 

Therefore, the possibility of encapsulating probiotics with lipid matrices is an interesting proposal, once lipids are digested by intestinal lipases, enabling the release of the microorganisms in the site where they are supposed to act, which is essential ensure their health benefits (Nori et al., 2009 Favaro-Trindade et al., 2011 Pedroso et al. 2012, 2013 Okuro et al. 2013b), as shown in Figure 5.2. 

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