PROBIOTICS ABC
WE ARE HOME TO TRILLIONS OF MICROBES
The human gastrointestinal tract is colonized by many microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi and protozoa. The activity and composition of these microorganisms (collectively known as the gut microbiota, microbiome, or intestinal microflora) can affect human health and disease.
Probiotics are “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) & the World Health Organization (WHO)
PROBIOTIC MECHANISMS OF ACTION
Probiotics work in a fashion by producing bacteriocins, facilitating competitive inhibition of pathogenic bacteria, inhibiting bacterial adherence, reducing luminal pH, enhancing the intestinal barrier function, and by modulating the immune system.
THE HISTORY OF PROBIOTICS
The term ‘probiotic’ is derived from the Greek pro (for) and bios (life) meaning ‘for life’. The concept of supplementing diet with probiotics evolved at the turn of the 20th century from a hypothesis proposed by Nobel Prize-winning Russian scientist Eli Metchnikoff. Metchnikoff suggested that the long, healthy life of Bulgarian peasants resulted from their consumption of fermented milk products and that the fermented lactobacillus positively influenced the microflora of the colon by decreasing toxic microbial activity.
NOT ALL PROBIOTICS ARE THE SAME
Probiotics – even when belonging to the same family or species – have different properties; as siblings: same family but different competencies. Probiotic benefits are strain specific, so any research done within the category applies only to the strains that were studied.
At MAAB, we provide tailored probiotic products based on specific probiotic strain for each health concern.