Probiotics in medicine

Szamocka Małgorzata, Ameryk Monika, Świątkowski Maciej. Probiotics in medicine. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2017;7(5):486-496. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.801564

http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/4493

The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 1223 (26.01.2017).

1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7

© The Author (s) 2017;

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This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial

use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Received: 05.05.2017. Revised: 23.05.2017. Accepted: 31.05.2017.

Probiotics in medicine

Małgorzata Szamocka, Monika Ameryk, Maciej Świątkowski

Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition Disorders, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

Corresponding author:

Monika Ameryk, Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition Disorders, the Jan Biziel University Hospital no. 2,

ul. K. Ujejskiego 75, 85-168 Bydgoszcz, Poland; tel. +48 52 371 49 12; e-mail: monika.ameryk@gmail.com

Summary:

Technical and technological progress has changed the production methods of agricultural products and has decreased the overall production costs. Eager reliance on chemical agents and genetic engineering has led to the emergence of risks concerning even traditional food products. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly common to return to the traditional production methods involving the use of biological agents, with the aim to restore a healthy lifestyle and sustainability. This requires a new approach and new solutions developed cooperatively by “soil doctors”, i.e. farmers and environmental scientists, vets and medical doctors. Human health is a reflection of the health of the ecosystem. Fertile soil is essential for the health of plants, animals and humans. Probiotics, prebiotics, bacteriophages and plant extracts exhibit a vast potential as natural technologies that are environment-, animal- and human-friendly. Probiotics are live microorganisms that, if used in proper quantities, favorably affect health. In order for a microorganism to be named a probiotic, a series of tests has to be run to confirm its safety, resistance to difficult conditions in the gastrointestinal tract and a clearly beneficial impact on health. The location and activity of probiotics is mainly associated with the large intestine. The beneficial effect of probiotics depends on the strain and dose. The most important of their actions is maintaining homeostasis of the intestinal microflora, which prevents diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and contributes to well-being. The correct balance in the quantity of microorganisms is crucial for host defense and sustained health. Clinical and experimental studies provide evidence of the effectiveness of using probiotics in both prophylaxis and treatment of many diseases. However, further research is necessary to confirm the effects of probiotics and, perhaps by means of genetic engineering, to select new strains endowed with clinically confirmed probiotic properties and free of adverse reactions.

Keywords: biologization, probiotics, health