Terapijska primjena i sigurnost probiotika

Probiotics are currently among the most popular dietary supplements and are defined as living microorganisms that, administered in adequate doses, show positive health effects. The most commonly used probiotics are different species/strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, some yeasts (Saccharomyces boulardii, S. cerevisiae) and some gram-positive cocci. According to available data, the use of probiotics is safe, and certain theoretical risks are mainly associated with the use of particular types of probiotic enterobacteria in immunocompromised patients. Possible therapeutic indications for probiotic supplementation are numerous, and their efficiency has been proved for the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea (especially diarrhoea caused by rotavirus); for alleviating the symptoms of ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome; for using them as an adjunctive therapy in H. pylori eradication; for prevention and alleviating the symptoms of allergic conditions (especially supplementation of pregnant women and infants to relieve symptoms and reduce the incidence of atopic dermatitis in infants with a genetic predisposition); and for the prevention and treatment of vagina! infections. Efficacy of probiotics has also been investigated for the prevention and treatment of other pathological conditions such as Crohn's disease, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, constipation, colon cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, etc., but the current evidence is insufficient to recommend their use in these indications. It is important to point our that many of the therapeuric effects of probiotics are strain - dependent and that, ideally, probiotic dietary supplements should contain the probiotic strains with proven efficiency in certain indication in larger number of studies. In addition, in everyday pharmaceutical practice, it is important to pay attention to the quality of available probiotic supplements (the composition of the preparation, the number of viable microorganisms in preparation - preferably l-20x109, the absence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms guaranteed by manufacturer) and adequate storage conditions