An Overview of the Therapeutic Aspect of Living Drugs Probiotics

The human body harbors ten times more bacterial cells than human cells. These bacterial cells form the human microbiome that plays a vital role in human health. An imbalance in the gut microbiome (i.e., dysbiosis) can result in various pathological conditions. This dysbiosis can be refurbished with the supplement of “probiotics.” Probiotics have thus been defined as non-pathogenic micro-organisms that, when ingested, exert a positive influence on host health or physiology. The most commonly used probiotic bacteria comes from two genera: Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Various research findings have proposed a correlation between the alteration of microbiota (composition/activity/density) with disorders like infectious diarrhea, inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, to name a few. The ultimate effect of administration of probiotics on health or physiology is either direct or indirect. This chapter summarizes the concept of probiotics, their therapeutic aspect along with possible mechanism of action.