Awareness and Knowledge about Probiotics among College Students

Probiotics are important for maintaining good gut health. In the present scenario when drug resistance among pathogenic bacteria is increasing, it has become of utmost importance for everyone to keep healthy gut microbiome. Therefore the topic of probiotics has relevance to each and everyone of us. With this view in mind, a survey was conducted among college students and few other professionals to gather information regarding its awareness. Since majority respondents were students, an analysis was done amongst student subcategory only. A questionnaire was developed which had variety of questions comprising general awareness about the term probiotic products available, technical know how and sources from where to obtain them. In this respect the term prebiotics was also put forth as general commercial compositions mention both prebiotic and probiotics. The data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software. Overall the survey indicated that students were well aware of the meaning of the term probiotics. Majority have learnt it from newspaper or TV, however they did not know technical specifications necessary when purchasing nor were they familiar with the trade names of probiotic preparations available in market. Further, students knew that food and supplements are sources for probiotics but were not familiar with the term prebiotic