Probiotics research

Isolauri E, Rautava S, Kalliomaki M, Kiijavainen P, Salminen S Probiotic research Learn from evidence. Allergy 2002 57 1076-1077. 

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. 

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. 

Probiotics have also been suggested as a means to potentially lower CH4 emissions. Few studies have demonstrated the use of yeast (McGinn et al., 2004 Newbold and Rode, 2006), but further research is required to develop a yeast that improves fermentation and animal performance as well as reduces CH4 emissions (Beauchemin et al., 2008). Preliminary... 

This chapter reports the progress made in the development of probiotic, prebiotic and other preventative treatments for gastrointestinal diseases, which have potential for use in organic and low input monogastric livestock production systems. Most of the results discussed focus on research with pigs, but most results should be transferable to other monogastric animals including poultry. 

The use of AAAs as feed supplements appears an attractive approach either in itself or in combination with pro-, pre- and synbiotics, but the lack of animal feeding studies in which the efficacy of this approach could be determined makes it difficult to assess to what extent a two-barrier (targeting control at both the stomach and intestinal level) approach is commercially feasible. Also, since the viability of probiotics may also be affected by the use of AAA to increase the disinfection activity of the stomach, probiotics may need to be formulated in a way that protects them during stomach transfer. However, its potential should be determined in future research. 

Because the development of antibiotic resistance will continue to be a problem, the development of effective alternative treatments is imperative. Immunization, probiotics, antisecretory agents, improved oral rehydration and nutrition therapy and nonabsorbable antibiotics are being considered by clinicians and researchers. Novel... 

Alternative potential strategies for reduction of mucosal secondary bile acid exposure are to target deconjugation of glycine/taurine bile salts by bacterial bile salt hydrolases and/or bacterial 7-dehydroxylation of primary bile acids to secondary bile acids. Sequestration of bile acids in the intestinal lumen using probiotic bacteria has also been proposed as an area for future research. ... 

Roselli, M., Finamore, A., Britti, M.S., Bosi, P., Oswald, I. and Mengheri, E. (2005) Alternatives to in-feed antibiotics in pigs evaluation of probiotics, zinc or organic acids as protective agents for the intestinal mucosa. A comparison of in vitro and in vivo results. Animal Research 54, 203-218. 

The effects of diet on poultry health need to be investigated in organic production, especially with the prohibition of antibiotics. The research to date indicates that probiotics and prebiotics are not as effective as antibiotics and more effective alternatives have to be discovered. 

Gibson, G.R. and Fuller, R. 2000. Aspects of in vitro and in vivo research approaches directed toward identifying probiotics and prebiotics for human use. J Nutr 130(2S Suppl) 391S-395S. 

De Vuyst, L., Makras, L.A., and Holo, H. 2004. Antimicrobial potential of probiotic or potentially probiotic lactic acid bacteria, the first results of the International European Research Project PROPATH of the PROEUHEALTH cluster. Microbial Ecolocy in Health and Disease 16 125-130. 

Maragkoudakis, P. and Tsakalidou, E. 2007. PathogenCombat probiotic protective cultures Properties potential applications. Laboratory of Dairy Research, Agricultural University of Athens. 

Environments, with high exposure very early in life to non-pathogenic microbes in the diet or in the air, show an apparently remarkable protective effect. However the method of translating this into public health measures is not clear at present. Further research into probiotics is awaited with interest. 

Recent evidence shows that probiotics might be useful in preventing the onset of allergic disease, but more research needs to be conducted before use of these products is recommended. 

There is a wide range of possible research areas on probiotic microencapsulation, especially by spray chilling. There still is no definitive report on the potential vs. performance for the bino-mium probiotic/spray chilling. From the studies carried out until today, promising results have been... 

Madureira AR, Amorim M, Gomes AM, Pintado ME, Maleata FX (2011) Protectiye effect of whey cheese matrix on probiotic strains exposed to simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Food Research International 44(1) 465 70. 

Senaka Ranadheera C, Evans CA, Adams MC, Baines SK (2012) In vitro analysis of gastrointestinal tolerance and intestinal cell adhesion of probiotics in goat s milk ice cream and yogurt. Food Research... 

Intensive research efforts have been focused on protecting the viability of probiotic cultures both during product manufacture and storage, and through the gastric transit until the target site is reached. Protection may be achieved by several ways, among them, encapsulation. 

Many research studies were carried out in order to investigate the potentiality of chitosan-coated alginate microcapsules system to increase the survival and stability of entrapped live probiotic cells. " " ... 

In the probiotic microencapsulation research, the incorporation in alginate microcapsules and different coatings application is frequently used. Besides the additional protection that the coatings can offer to the entrapped bacteria, they could provide greater control over bacterial release. 

Table 37.6 reports some details, such as type of microbial cells, encapsulant materials, and encapsulation process, about the encapsulation systems for probiotics described by recent literature, in order to provide some indication on the main research trends. 

Mokarram, R. R. Mortazavi, S. A. Najafi, M. B. H. Shahidi, F., The influence of multi stage alginate coating on survivability of potential probiotic bacteria in simulated gastric and intestinal juice. Food Research International (2009) 42, 1040-1045. 

Existing health targets, as described above, will be further investigated and either confirmed or refuted for probiotic efficacy. New targets will also certainly emerge. Many of these targets will be indicated by the substantial research efforts towards understanding of the intestinal and other microbiota. The influence of the intestinal microbiota on, for instance, the gut-brain axis may hint at possibilities for probiotics and stress or mental awareness. 

Aggarwal, J., Swami, G., Kumar, M. (2013). Probiotics and their effects on metabohc diseases an update. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 7(1), 173-177. 

Pineda Mde, L., Thompson, S. R, Summers, K., de Leon, R, Pope, J., Reid, G. (2011). A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled pilot study of probiotics in active rheumatoid arthritis. Medical Science Monitor International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research, 17(6), CR347-54. 

Sanz, Y., Rastmanesh, R., Agostonic, C. (2013). Understanding the role of gut microbes and probiotics in obesity how far are we Pharmacological Research The Official Journal of the Italian Pharmacological Society, 69(1), 144-155. 

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