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When choosing a probiotiic, it is important to select the right product and the right strain. Many products which profess to contain probiotics….may contain unknown or variable numbers of bacteria and most have strains with no proven record of probiotic activity. There are many thousands of strains of lactobacilli, all of which differ, while many of them might indeed show beneficial activity, very few have actually been proven to do so.
The most important criteria for a microorganism to be defined as a probiotic include that the strain be of human origin, be safe for human use, stable in bile and acid, adhere to the intestinal mucosa and should have the ability to compete effectively in the gut eco-system.
The microbial content of the preparations varies with some containing a single strain and some having different strains and species in one product. It is not possible to compare the effects obtained using one probiotic with those given by another or a conglomerate of different strains. Sometimes, different species can be targeted towards different ailments and therefore can be blended in one preparation.
The benefits of probiotics may result from the following postulated mechanism of action…
- Acidification of the gut lumen.
- Invitro production of antimicrobial substances.
- Inhibition of pathogenic bacterial adhesions to the mucosal intestinal surface.
- Decreased bacterial translocation and altered mucosal barrier.
- Altered cytokine production or immunomodulation (increased serum Ig A).
- Modification of gut toxins (bacterial antigens) or competition for toxin receptors.
- Competition for nutrients.
- Modification of other gut functions.
An Analysis of Basic and Clinical Contributions in Probiotic Therapeutics. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, Volume 34, Issue 3, Pages 499 - 513 P. Gionchetti
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