Probiotics in gastric and intestinal disorders as functional food and medicine

Abstract

The chairman of the first session, Tore Midtvedt, opened the conference by reminding the audience that since ancient time, food, bowel and health have been interrelated medical topics. Microorganisms, especially lactobacilli and some yeasts, have been used as health-promoting agents since ancient time. Metchnikoff suggested that the long healthy life of Bulgarian peasants resulted from consumption of fermented milk products. The term ‘‘probiotic’’ is still under debate. In all definitions there are two prerequisites: 1) the microbes have to be alive, and 2) the microbes are given for other than nutritional reasons, i.e., it is not the caloric or nutrient content of the probiotics that counts. ME Sanders’ definition from 1996 says that probiotics, simply defined, are microbes consumed for health effects. The term probiotics is used in food applications, and biotherapeutics is often used in clinical applications. In selecting probiotic/biotherapeutic strains, Midtvedt emphasised the importance of thinking function rather than disease, and of investigating functions in specified compartments of the body. For instance, b glucuronidase activity of the colonic microflora may modify conjugation of endoand exogenous substances, and the presence of cytochrome P 450 in human intestinal flora may influence the expression of hepatic cytochrome P 450.