Health benefits and health claims of probiotics: bridging science and marketing
14 Nov 2011-British Journal of Nutrition (Cambridge University Press)-Vol. 106, Iss: 9, pp 1291-1296
TL;DR: An open dialogue between basic and clinical scientists, regulatory authorities, food and nutrition industry, and consumers could bridge the gap between science and marketing of probiotics.
Abstract: Health claims for probiotics are evaluated by the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies of the European Food Safety Authority. Despite a substantial amount of basic and clinical research on the beneficial effects of probiotics, all of the evaluated claim applications thus far have received a negative opinion. With the restrictions on the use of clinical endpoints, validated biomarkers for gut health and immune health in relation to reduction in disease risk are needed. Clear-cut criteria for design as well as evaluation of future studies are needed. An open dialogue between basic and clinical scientists, regulatory authorities, food and nutrition industry, and consumers could bridge the gap between science and marketing of probiotics.
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TL;DR: Following probiotic supplementation, positive effects have been reported for several outcomes including respiratory tract infection, immunologic markers, and gastrointestinal symptoms in both athletes and nonathletes, leading to inconclusive results for standardized supplementation protocols.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the effects of probiotic supplementation on physically active individuals. The participants, interventions, comparisons, outcome and stud...
22 citations
TL;DR: It was found that L. acidophilus was not beneficial in treating children with acute watery diarrhea, and there was also no evidence that probiotic treatment was efficacious in any of the predefined subgroups nor significantly associated with any secondary end point.
Abstract: Background Probiotics are the most frequently prescribed treatment for children hospitalized with diarrhea in Vietnam. We were uncertain of the benefits of probiotics for the treatment of acute watery diarrhea in Vietnamese children. Methods We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of children hospitalized with acute watery diarrhea in Vietnam. Children meeting the inclusion criteria (acute watery diarrhea) were randomized to receive either 2 daily oral doses of 2 × 10 CFUs of a local probiotic containing Lactobacillus acidophilus or placebo for 5 days as an adjunct to standard of care. The primary end point was time from the first dose of study medication to the start of the first 24-hour period without diarrhea. Secondary outcomes included the total duration of diarrhea and hospitalization, daily stool frequency, treatment failure, daily fecal concentrations of rotavirus and norovirus, and Lactobacillus colonization. Results One hundred and fifty children were randomized into each study group. The median time from the first dose of study medication to the start of the first 24-hour diarrhea-free period was 43 hours (interquartile range, 15-66 hours) in the placebo group and 35 hours (interquartile range, 20-68 hours) in the probiotic group (acceleration factor 1.09 [95% confidence interval, 0.78-1.51]; P = 0.62). There was also no evidence that probiotic treatment was efficacious in any of the predefined subgroups nor significantly associated with any secondary end point. Conclusions This was a large double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which the probiotic underwent longitudinal quality control. We found under these conditions that L. acidophilus was not beneficial in treating children with acute watery diarrhea.
19 citations
TL;DR: The consumption of probiotic-enriched food becomes a popular trend due to the scientific evidence about its beneficial effect on the gut micro-flora and the high capacity of probiotics to provide health benefits is varied according to the probiotic lactic acid strain and the delivery food product.
Abstract: Date fruit is the ancient discovered and consumed fruit. Worldwide, Egypt is the largest producer of date. Besides its health benefits, many recent studies have proved its antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory effect. Currently, probiotic fermented fruit juices have a great attention especially for lactose intolerance patients. This study assessed the survival of two probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. sakei) in the date juice. Phenolics characterization was performed by HPLC. Anti-proliferative activity of fermented juice against Caco-2 and Hep-2 cell lines was also evaluated. Under cold storage, L. sakei was still live for 2 weeks at 1.8 x 107 CFU/mL. In contrast, L. acidophilus reduced from 5.2 x 106 CFU/mL to below the minimum value of probiotic products just after 1 week. L. sakie significantly multiplied the total phenols and antioxidant activity in the juice compared to the unfermented juice. Interestingly, probiotic date juice exhibited an antitumor activity against larynx cell lines (Hep-2) with no activity against Caco-2. Date juice was proved to be suitable for probiotic and as potential larynx anticancer juice. Therefore, the developed juice is recommended to contribute to the available probiotic foodstuffs.
18 citations
TL;DR: The use of probiotics and prebiotics has been investigated as treatments to alleviate symptoms for a variety of conditions, and is now being proposed for the treatment of symptoms associated with HIV.
Abstract: Recent years have seen a massive expansion in our understanding of how we interact with our microbial colonists. The development of new, rapid sequencing techniques such as pyrosequencing and other next-generation sequencing systems have enabled us to begin to characterise the constituents of our diverse microbial communities, revealing the astonishing genetic richness that is our microbiome. Despite this, our ignorance of how these communities change over the course of an HIV infection is profound. Whilst some steps have been made to characterise the HIV microbiome at selected sites, these reports are still limited and much remains to be done. It has become apparent, however, that host-microbiota interactions are perturbed during HIV infections, with microbial translocation of potential pathogens linked to a variety of different HIV complications, including more rapid progression of disease. The use of probiotics and prebiotics has been investigated as treatments to alleviate symptoms for a variety of conditions, and is now being proposed for the treatment of symptoms associated with HIV. However, this is a new area of investigations and many questions remain unanswered. What we know about both of these topics is a drop in the ocean compared with what we need to know. In this article, we report on a workshop where these two major under-investigated research areas were presented, and future directions explored and discussed.
17 citations
TL;DR: Cold-pressed milk thistle seed flour was extracted with 50% acetone and evaluated for its phytochemical composition, and gut microbiota modulating, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative capacities, and potential health benefits in functional foods are suggested.
Abstract: Cold-pressed milk thistle seed flour was extracted with 50% acetone and evaluated for its phytochemical composition, and gut microbiota modulating, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative capacities. UHPLC-MS analysis detected fifteen compounds in the milk thistle seed flour extract with silychristin as the primary component followed by silybin B and isosilybins A & B. The milk thistle seed flour extract enhanced the total bacteria number and altered the abundance of a specific bacterial phylum or genus under the experimental conditions. The extract had RDSC, ORAC, HOSC, and ABTS˙+ scavenging capacities of 49, 634, 10 420 and 116 μmol Trolox equivalents (TE) per g flour, respectively. In addition, the milk thistle seed flour extract suppressed LPS induced IL-1β mRNA expression in the cultured J774A.1 mouse macrophages and the proliferation of LNCaP prostate cancer cells. The results suggest milk thistle seed flour's potential health benefits in functional foods.
17 citations
References
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TL;DR: The Illumina-based metagenomic sequencing, assembly and characterization of 3.3 million non-redundant microbial genes, derived from 576.7 gigabases of sequence, from faecal samples of 124 European individuals are described, indicating that the entire cohort harbours between 1,000 and 1,150 prevalent bacterial species and each individual at least 160 such species.
Abstract: To understand the impact of gut microbes on human health and well-being it is crucial to assess their genetic potential. Here we describe the Illumina-based metagenomic sequencing, assembly and characterization of 3.3 million non-redundant microbial genes, derived from 576.7 gigabases of sequence, from faecal samples of 124 European individuals. The gene set, ~150 times larger than the human gene complement, contains an overwhelming majority of the prevalent (more frequent) microbial genes of the cohort and probably includes a large proportion of the prevalent human intestinal microbial genes. The genes are largely shared among individuals of the cohort. Over 99% of the genes are bacterial, indicating that the entire cohort harbours between 1,000 and 1,150 prevalent bacterial species and each individual at least 160 such species, which are also largely shared. We define and describe the minimal gut metagenome and the minimal gut bacterial genome in terms of functions present in all individuals and most bacteria, respectively
9,268 citations
"Health benefits and health claims o..." refers background in this paper
...For the fifty-seven most common bacterial species identified by metagenome sequence analysis in the human gut, the inter-individual variability of abundance is between 12- and 2187-fold((16))....
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...However, a clearly distinct composition of gut microbiota, both compared with healthy individuals and between the two diseases, is found in inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease)((16))....
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TL;DR: It is reported here that the prominent human symbiont Bacteroides fragilis protects animals from experimental colitis induced by Helicobacter hepaticus and that molecules of the bacterial microbiota can mediate the critical balance between health and disease.
Abstract: Humans are colonized by multitudes of commensal organisms representing members of five of the six kingdoms of life; however, our gastrointestinal tract provides residence to both beneficial and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Imbalances in the composition of the bacterial microbiota, known as dysbiosis, are postulated to be a major factor in human disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease. We report here that the prominent human symbiont Bacteroides fragilis protects animals from experimental colitis induced by Helicobacter hepaticus, a commensal bacterium with pathogenic potential. This beneficial activity requires a single microbial molecule (polysaccharide A, PSA). In animals harbouring B. fragilis not expressing PSA, H. hepaticus colonization leads to disease and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in colonic tissues. Purified PSA administered to animals is required to suppress pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 production by intestinal immune cells and also inhibits in vitro reactions in cell cultures. Furthermore, PSA protects from inflammatory disease through a functional requirement for interleukin-10-producing CD4+ T cells. These results show that molecules of the bacterial microbiota can mediate the critical balance between health and disease. Harnessing the immunomodulatory capacity of symbiosis factors such as PSA might potentially provide therapeutics for human inflammatory disorders on the basis of entirely novel biological principles.
2,097 citations
"Health benefits and health claims o..." refers background in this paper
...In a series of landmark publications((7,19,20)), Dennis Kasper’s group has demonstrated that the capsular polysaccharide polysaccharide A of Bacteroides fragilis is indispensable for normal development of mucosal T lymphocytes and control of exper-...
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...Unfortunately, with a few exceptions((7,8)), the genes that determine or underlie the health benefit delivered by specific probiotic strains have not been identified to date....
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TL;DR: Evidence is provided for the fact that the ageing process deeply affects the structure of the human gut microbiota, as well as its homeostasis with the host's immune system, because of its crucial role in the host physiology and health status.
Abstract: Background: Age-related physiological changes in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as modifications in lifestyle, nutritional behaviour, and functionality of the host immune system, inevitably affect the gut microbiota, resulting in a greater susceptibility to infections. Methodology/Principal Findings: By using the Human Intestinal Tract Chip (HITChip) and quantitative PCR of 16S rRNA genes of Bacteria and Archaea, we explored the age-related differences in the gut microbiota composition among young adults, elderly, and centenarians, i.e subjects who reached the extreme limits of the human lifespan, living for over 100 years. We observed that the microbial composition and diversity of the gut ecosystem of young adults and seventy-years old people is highly similar but differs significantly from that of the centenarians. After 100 years of symbiotic association with the human host, the microbiota is characterized by a rearrangement in the Firmicutes population and an enrichment in facultative anaerobes, notably pathobionts. The presence of such a compromised microbiota in the centenarians is associated with an increased inflammatory status, also known as inflammageing, as determined by a range of peripheral blood inflammatory markers. This may be explained by a remodelling of the centenarians’ microbiota, with a marked decrease in Faecalibacterium prauznitzii and relatives, symbiotic species with reported anti-inflammatory properties. As signature bacteria of the long life we identified specifically Eubacterium limosum and relatives that were more than ten-fold increased in the centenarians. Conclusions/Significance: We provide evidence for the fact that the ageing process deeply affects the structure of the human gut microbiota, as well as its homeostasis with the host’s immune system. Because of its crucial role in the host physiology and health status, age-related differences in the gut microbiota composition may be related to the progression of diseases and frailty in the elderly population.
1,180 citations
"Health benefits and health claims o..." refers background in this paper
...Moreover, the intestinal microbiota also changes in time as was illustrated recently in a study, in which age groups up to 100 years were compared((17))....
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TL;DR: The nonclassic actions of vitamin D are cell specific and provide a number of potential new clinical applications for 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and its analogs, however, the use ofitamin D metabolites and analogs for these applications remains limited by the classic actions of Vitamin D leading to hypercalcemia and hypercalcuria.
Abstract: Context: Vitamin D receptors are found in most tissues, not just those participating in the classic actions of vitamin D such as bone, gut, and kidney. These nonclassic tissues are therefore potential targets for the active metabolite of vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D. Furthermore, many of these tissues also contain the enzyme CYP27B1 capable of producing 1,25(OH)2D from the circulating form of vitamin D. This review was intended to highlight the actions of 1,25(OH)2D in several of these tissues but starts with a review of vitamin D production, metabolism, and molecular mechanism. Evidence Acquisition: Medline was searched for articles describing actions of 1,25(OH)2D on parathyroid hormone and insulin secretion, immune responses, keratinocytes, and cancer. Evidence Synthesis: Vitamin D production in the skin provides an efficient source of vitamin D. Subsequent metabolism to 1,25(OH)2D within nonrenal tissues differs from that in the kidney. Although vitamin D receptor mediates the actions of 1,25(OH)2D, regulati...
882 citations
TL;DR: This Review highlights the documented signalling interactions of the surface molecules of probiotic bacteria (such as long surface appendages, polysaccharides and lipoteichoic acids) with PRRs with respect to host pattern recognition receptors of the gastrointestinal mucosa.
Abstract: Interactions between host cell receptors and the surface molecules of bacteria are important determinants of the nature of the relationship between the two organisms. In this Review, Lebeer, Vanderleyden and De Keersmaecker examine the signalling interactions of probiotic bacterial cell surface molecules. How can probiotic bacteria transduce their health benefits to the host? Bacterial cell surface macromolecules are key factors in this beneficial microorganism–host crosstalk, as they can interact with host pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) of the gastrointestinal mucosa. In this Review, we highlight the documented signalling interactions of the surface molecules of probiotic bacteria (such as long surface appendages, polysaccharides and lipoteichoic acids) with PRRs. Research on host–probiotic interactions can benefit from well-documented host–microorganism studies that span the spectrum from pathogenicity to mutualism. Distinctions and parallels are therefore drawn with the interactions of similar molecules that are presented by gastrointestinal commensals and pathogens.
852 citations
"Health benefits and health claims o..." refers background in this paper
...For a number of strains, it has been demonstrated now that the probiotic bacteria can bind to receptors on cells of the immune system including dendritic cells((27))....
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