384
used to maintain the homeostasis of enteric microbiota and for prevention of
related diseases, the efficiency of this type of treatment is still in dispute, and
interindividual variation is a major challenge. Probiotics constitute a major challenging and promising area for providing better health as well as for revenue
generation.
Keywords
Probiotics • Beneficial microbes • Gut microflora • Intestinal microflora •
Fermented products
16.1 Introduction
Microbes are tiny organisms that are prevalent in most parts of the body, living in
the nose, mouth, intestinal tract, pharynx, and on the skin, etc., and thus are significant for body health in that an imbalance of microbes in the human body results in
many diseases. More than ten times as many microorganisms are present in the
human body as compared to the total number of cells in the body but constitute less
than 3% of total body mass (Willis et al. 1999).
The Human Microbiome Project, sponsored by the National Institute of Health
(NIH), has developed resources to study the microbial communities that live in our
bodies and their role in human health and diseases. Probiotics have been with us
from our first breath but may be new to the food and supplement industry. A baby
picks up many bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium spp., Escherichia coli, and
Lactobacillus spp., from the birth canal at the time of delivery.
The stomach flora mainly consists of lactobacilli, which are able to colonize
heavily because of the low pH (Holzapfel et al. 1998). Some colonization in the
stomach, such as Helicobacter pylori, is endemic for certain geographic locations.
The concept of beneficial bacteria protecting organisms from harmful bacteria
leads to probiotics. The concept of probiotics was first introduced by the Nobel
Prize- winning scientist Elie Metchnikoff in 1900. He noticed that Bulgarian peasants have long and healthy lives and proposed it as being the result of their regular
intake of milk and fermented milk products. Later, he hypothesized that the organisms in yogurt can protect the intestine from harmful bacteria. The term “probiotic” was probably introduced by Elie Metchnikoff and is considered to be derived
from the Latin word “pro” and the Greek word “bios,” meaning “for life.” He
suggested that live microbes might provide beneficial effects on human health
when taken into the body. The definition of probiotics comprises the intake of concentrated bacterial supplementation in the diet and food fermented by a beneficial
bacterium (Castellazzi et al. 2013). After 1930 the first clinical trials on the effect
of probiotics on constipation were performed. A probiotic product for the treatment
of scour in pigs as a drug was first licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
in the 1950s (Orrhage et al. 1994). Different microorganisms have been identified
for their ability to prevent infection and cure diseases, leading to the blooming of
T.S. Swapna et al.
used to maintain the homeostasis of enteric microbiota and for prevention of
related diseases, the efficiency of this type of treatment is still in dispute, and
interindividual variation is a major challenge. Probiotics constitute a major challenging and promising area for providing better health as well as for revenue
generation.
Keywords
Probiotics • Beneficial microbes • Gut microflora • Intestinal microflora •
Fermented products
16.1 Introduction
Microbes are tiny organisms that are prevalent in most parts of the body, living in
the nose, mouth, intestinal tract, pharynx, and on the skin, etc., and thus are significant for body health in that an imbalance of microbes in the human body results in
many diseases. More than ten times as many microorganisms are present in the
human body as compared to the total number of cells in the body but constitute less
than 3% of total body mass (Willis et al. 1999).
The Human Microbiome Project, sponsored by the National Institute of Health
(NIH), has developed resources to study the microbial communities that live in our
bodies and their role in human health and diseases. Probiotics have been with us
from our first breath but may be new to the food and supplement industry. A baby
picks up many bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium spp., Escherichia coli, and
Lactobacillus spp., from the birth canal at the time of delivery.
The stomach flora mainly consists of lactobacilli, which are able to colonize
heavily because of the low pH (Holzapfel et al. 1998). Some colonization in the
stomach, such as Helicobacter pylori, is endemic for certain geographic locations.
The concept of beneficial bacteria protecting organisms from harmful bacteria
leads to probiotics. The concept of probiotics was first introduced by the Nobel
Prize- winning scientist Elie Metchnikoff in 1900. He noticed that Bulgarian peasants have long and healthy lives and proposed it as being the result of their regular
intake of milk and fermented milk products. Later, he hypothesized that the organisms in yogurt can protect the intestine from harmful bacteria. The term “probiotic” was probably introduced by Elie Metchnikoff and is considered to be derived
from the Latin word “pro” and the Greek word “bios,” meaning “for life.” He
suggested that live microbes might provide beneficial effects on human health
when taken into the body. The definition of probiotics comprises the intake of concentrated bacterial supplementation in the diet and food fermented by a beneficial
bacterium (Castellazzi et al. 2013). After 1930 the first clinical trials on the effect
of probiotics on constipation were performed. A probiotic product for the treatment
of scour in pigs as a drug was first licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
in the 1950s (Orrhage et al. 1994). Different microorganisms have been identified
for their ability to prevent infection and cure diseases, leading to the blooming of
T.S. Swapna et al.