Methods and techniques to evaluate the antiviral activity of a new probiotic strain

Abstract

The “antiviral probiotic” term is not yet used in science nor approved by FDA and WHO. Indeed, the evaluation of antiviral activity of probiotic strains needs to be standardized and approved. Until now, “antiviral probiotics” are not used either in the medical or food sectors. Furthermore, this type of probiotic is not widely recognized by health organizations such as the WHO and FDA. However, antiviral probiotics (AvPrs) have shown an efficient antiviral effect in the prevention and treatment of several viral infections. In last decade, many studies have been conducted to evaluate the antiviral activity of some probiotic strains. Few studies have showed the mechanisms behind such activity. The needs and the importance of antiviral probiotics have encouraged researchers to deeply investigate the antiviral mechanism. A probiotic strain needs to be tested and evaluated by many experiment to be recognized and approved as antiviral probiotics. Besides cytotoxicity, probiotic characteristics and immunomodulation effect of probiotic strain, choosing cell line, indicator virus and addition time of bacterial cells are the essential criteria for this selection.