Probiotics in infective diarrhoea and inflammatory bowel diseases

Bacteria are present throughout the gastrointestinal tract, but their pattern and concentration vary greatly. Probiotics are living organisms that supply beneficial health effects to the host. So far the beneficial effects of probiotics have been shown, almost exclusively, under poorly defined exper...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology 2000-05, Vol.15 (5), p.489-493
Main Authors: Gionchetti, Paolo, Rizzello, Fernando, Venturi, Alessandro, Campieri, Massimo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bifidobacterium
Biological and medical sciences
Diarrhea - microbiology
Diarrhea - therapy
Digestive system
Humans
infective diarrhoea
inflammatory bowel diseases
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - microbiology
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - therapy
intestinal microflora
Lactobacillus
Medical sciences
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
probiotics
Probiotics - therapeutic use
Rotavirus Infections - therapy
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Summary:Bacteria are present throughout the gastrointestinal tract, but their pattern and concentration vary greatly. Probiotics are living organisms that supply beneficial health effects to the host. So far the beneficial effects of probiotics have been shown, almost exclusively, under poorly defined experimental conditions. There are little convincing data from well‐designed, double‐blind controlled trials supporting health‐promoting effects. The use of probiotics to treat gastrointestinal infections has produced contrasting results. Apart from information on rotavirus infection in children, there is no convincing evidence from controlled studies on the efficacy of probiotics in the prevention or treatment of infective diarrhoea. However, experimental and clinical studies suggest that there are potential therapeutic roles for probiotics in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. This review focuses on the available data concerning the mechanisms of action of probiotics, and on the results from clinical studies using probiotics to treat infective diarrhoea and inflammatory bowel disease.
ISSN:0815-9319
1440-1746
DOI:10.1046/j.1440-1746.2000.02162.x