This ppt of Dr Prince C P explains the importance of probiotics for healthy life. Probiotics were earlier defined as non-pathogenic microorganisms which when ingested, exert a positive influence on host’s health or physiology. The latest definition put forward by FDA and WHO jointly is “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host”.

1. Probiotics and Healthy Life
DR. PRINCE C P
HOD & Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology
Mother Theresa Post Graduate & Research Institute of Health Sciences
(Government of Puducherry Institution)
Puducherry-605006

2. Probiotics
• Probiotics were earlier defined as non-pathogenic microorganisms
which when ingested, exert a positive influence on host’s health or
physiology.
• The latest definition put forward by FDA and WHO jointly is “Live
microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts
confer a health benefit to the host”.

3. Popularly used probiotic microorganisms
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus
• Lactobacillus reuteri
• Bifidobacteria
• Lactobacillus casei,
• Lactobacillus acidophilus-group
• Bacillus coagulans
• Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917
• certain Enterococci, especially Enterococcus faecium SF68
• Yeast Saccharomyces boulardii.
• Bacterial spore formers, mostly of the genus Bacillus

4. • These probiotics are added to foods, particularly
fermented milk products, either singly or in
combinations. New genera and strains of probiotics
are continuously emerging with more advanced and
focused research efforts.

5. • Probiotics possess important functional attributes that could fulfil
most of our basic nutritional and clinical supplementation
requirements.
• These microbes have shown positive responses to clinical treatment
against several diseases and disorders, such as diarrhea associated
with Rotavirus, IBS and food allergies.

6. •Moreover, the contribution of probiotics in
preventing and treatment of diabetes, obesity,
cancer and diseases related to pathogenic
microbes is an exciting and rapidly advancing
research arena.

7. Characteristics of an ideal probiotic strain

8. Different sources of probiotics

9. Mechanisms are thought to be associated with
probiotic beneficial effects:
• Produce inhibitory substances like H2O2, bacteriocins, organic acids,
etc.
• Block adhesion sites for pathogenic bacteria.
• Competition with the pathogenic bacteria for nutrients.
• toxin Degradation and blocking of toxin receptors,
• Modulation of immune responses

10. Mechanism of action of Probiotics

11. Prebiotics and Symbiotics
• Prebiotics are mostly “fibres that are non-digestible food ingredients”
and beneficially affect the host’s health by selectively stimulating the
growth and/or activity of some genera of microorganisms in the
colon, generally lactobacilli and Bifido bacteria

12. ideal prebiotic should be
• Resistant to the actions of acids in the stomach, bile salts and other
hydrolyzing enzymes in the intestine
• Should not be absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract.
• Be easily fermentable by the beneficial intestinal microflora .

13. • Prebiotics like inulin and pectin exhibit several health benefits like
reducing the prevalence and duration of diarrhoea, relief from
inflammation and other symptoms associated with intestinal bowel
disorder and protective effects to prevent colon cancer.
• They are also implicated in enhancing the bioavailability and uptake
of minerals, lowering of some risk factors of cardiovascular disease,
and promoting satiety and weight loss thus preventing obesity.

14. Synbiotics
• are combination of prebiotics with probiotics.
• A synbiotic product beneficially affects the host in improving the
survival and implantation of live microbial dietary supplements in the
gastrointestinal tract by selectively stimulating the growth and/or
activating the metabolism of one or a limited number of health
promoting bacteria.
• Because the word synbiotics alludes to synergism, this term should be
reserved for products in which the prebiotic compounds selectively
favor the probiotic organisms.

15. • Synbiotics were developed to overcome possible survival
difficulties for probiotics. It appears that the rationale to use
synbiotics, is based on observations showing the
improvement of survival of the probiotic bacteria during the
passage through the upper intestinal tract. A more efficient
implantation in the colon as well as a stimulating effect of
the growth of probiotics and ubiquitous bacteria contribute
to maintain the intestinal homeostasis and a healthy body.

16. Health benefits
• beneficial effects of probiotics include the prevention of diarrhoea,
constipation, changes in bile salt conjugation, enhancement of
antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory.
• they also contribute to the synthesis of nutrients and improve their
bioavailability
• some probiotics are known to exert anti-oxidative activity in the form of
intact cells or lysates.
• Probiotics have also demonstrated their inherent effects in alleviating
symptoms of allergy, cancer, AIDS, respiratory and urinary tract infections.
• There are stray reports on their beneficial effects on aging, fatigue, autism,
osteoporosis, obesity and type 2 diabetes

17. Thank you