Probiotics: Past, Present and Future Challenges

Abstract

The term probiotic (prolife) is utilized to describe useful living microorganisms, intended to colonize the large bowel, when consumed in adequate amounts, they confer physiological health benefits to the host. In the last decade, probiotics have been widely used as a nutritional supplement and became a rapidly developing research topic that gained importance in medicine. Recent clinical trials have found that consumption of beneficial bacterial species can manipulate gut flora and reduce or prevent the development of certain serious diseases. This brief review article is intended to discuss the status of research on probiotics, and the value of their consumption in human health.