Probiotics: Versatile Bioactive Components in Promoting Human Health

• Published in: Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Vol. 56; no. 9; p. 433
• Main Authors: Sharifi-Rad, Javad, Rodrigues, Célia F, Stojanović-Radić, Zorica, Dimitrijević, Marina, Aleksić, Ana, Neffe-Skocińska, Katarzyna, Zielińska, Dorota, Kołożyn-Krajewska, Danuta, Salehi, Bahare, Milton Prabu, Selvaraj, Schutz, Francine, Docea, Anca Oana, Martins, Natália, Calina, Daniela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 27.08.2020; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Betacoronavirus; Celiac Disease - therapy; clinical studies; Clostridium Infections - therapy; Constipation - therapy; Coronavirus Infections - drug therapy; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; Coronavirus Infections - therapy; COVID-19; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Depressive Disorder - therapy; Dietary Supplements - standards; Diverticular Diseases - therapy; Dysentery - therapy; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - therapy; evidence based-medicine; Fermented Foods; Food Hypersensitivity - therapy; Gastrointestinal Diseases - therapy; Helicobacter Infections - therapy; Hepatic Encephalopathy - therapy; Humans; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - therapy; lifestyle; Liver Diseases - therapy; mechanisms; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - therapy; nutrition; Pandemics - prevention & control; Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control; Pneumonia, Viral - therapy; probiotic properties; Probiotics - adverse effects; Probiotics - standards; Probiotics - therapeutic use; Quality Control; Review; SARS-CoV-2; probiotic properties; nutrition; evidence based-medicine; safety; clinical studies; mechanisms; lifestyle
• ISSN: 1648-9144; 1010-660X; 1648-9144
• DOI: 10.3390/medicina56090433

The positive impact of probiotic strains on human health has become more evident than ever before. Often delivered through food, dietary products, supplements, and drugs, different legislations for safety and efficacy issues have been prepared. Furthermore, regulatory agencies have addressed various approaches toward these products, whether they authorize claims mentioning a disease's diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Due to the diversity of bacteria and yeast strains, strict approaches have been designed to assess for side effects and post-market surveillance. One of the most essential delivery systems of probiotics is within food, due to the great beneficial health effects of this system compared to pharmaceutical products and also due to the increasing importance of food and nutrition. Modern lifestyle or various diseases lead to an imbalance of the intestinal flora. Nonetheless, as the amount of probiotic use needs accurate calculations, different factors should also be taken into consideration. One of the novelties of this review is the presentation of the beneficial effects of the administration of probiotics as a potential adjuvant therapy in COVID-19. Thus, this paper provides an integrative overview of different aspects of probiotics, from human health care applications to safety, quality, and control.