Probiotics: An emerging food supplement with health benefits

Abstract

Abstract Probiotics are among the important functional foods. They comprise approximately 65% of the world functional food market. Probiotic products are foods, which improve intestinal microflora and support good health of the consumer. The live bacteria present in the probiotic products are lactic acid bacteria, including Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria and Enterococci. Apart from health claims and maintenance of intestinal microflora, they protect against infections, alleviate lactose intolerance, reduce blood cholesterol levels and also stimulate the immune system. The interactive research between physiology, microbiology, food technology and molecular biology followed by clinical trials may produce a multi-functional probiotic strain for human consumption. Key Words: Probioticlactic acid bacteriafunctional food Acknowledgement I express my gratitude to Dr. V. Prakash, Director, CFTRI. I thank Dr. S. Umesh, HOD, Food Microbiology for encouragement. I thank Dr. M.V. Patwardhan for discussions and Shobha Rani. P for assistance. Notes Klein G. (1999) Probiotische and technologisch eingesctzte Mikroorganisnen in lebensmitteln, Arzneimitteln und in Tierfutter phano-und genotypische untersuchungen zur identifizierung und zur biologischen sicherheit. Habilitation thesis, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Free University of Berlin Simpson, P.J., Ross, R.D., Stanton, C. (2001) The selective enumeration and genetic finger printing of Pediococcus and Bifidobacterium strains recovered from animal feed. Eurolab. Conf. Cork Ireland, 112