Probiotic ingestion

A number of benefits in the ingestion of probiotics have been reported. According to Vaughan et al. (1999), the beneficial effects of probiotic strains — demonstrated and proposed — are the following ... 

In order to exert positive health effects and to be considered probiotic bacteria, L. plantarum ATCC 8014 should resist the stressful conditions of the stomach and upper intestine" to the level of 10 cfu/g product when ingested. 

The amount of potentially probiotic bacteria which is to be ingested by consumers to receive the beneficial effect (the "effective dose" in contrast with the "infectious dose" of pathogenic bacteria) is not easily defined, as there is strong evidence that this could be a strain-specific feature, and that it also depends on the intended target effect, as well as host-related factors and those of the vector food. 

Gluck, U. and Gebbers, J.O. 2003. Ingested probiotics reduce nasal colonization with pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus. Streptococcus pneumoniae, and beta-hemolytic streptococci). Am J Clin Nutr 77(2), 517-520. 

Probiotics are live microbes that exert health benefits when ingested in sufficient quantities. Species of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, sometimes combined with Streptococcus thermophilus, are the main bacteria used as probiotics in fermented dairy products. Most probiotic research has been done with nutra-ceutical preparations, but yogurt has been shown to alleviate lactose intolerance, prevent vaginal can-didosis in women with recurrent vaginitis, and reduce the incidence or severity of gastrointestinal infections. 

Usually probiotics are taken in the form of dairy products, drinks, or supplements, but in African countries they have traditionally also been ingested in fermented cereal and in fermented vegetables in Asian countries. The claimed benefits of traditional fermented foods range from treatment of diarrheal diseases to alleviation of the side-effects of antibiotics to the prevention of a number of other health problems. In some countries fermented foods have even been associated with benefits to the skin. 

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