Lactic acid bacterium

The term “probiotic” was derived from Greek and means “for life.” Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that confer a health benefit to the host when administered in adequate amounts proposed for probiotics. Common probiotics include lactobacilli and bifidobacterial. Also, other microbial species, besides lactic acid bacteria (LAB), like Bacillus subtilis; Propionibacterium spp. and yeasts have been accepted and used as probiotics.

BioCC for humans

Probiotic products may be conventional foods consumed for nutritional purposes, but also for the probiotic effect. Probiotic preparations used as food supplement can consist of one single strain or there are mixed cultures of two or even more strains.

Probiotic Lactobacillus strains possess various functional properties for health promotion, including high antimicrobial activity against pathogens, blood pressure lowering, cholesterol-lowering effects, antioxidative properties, and immunogenic potential. However, strain-specific health effects may be associated with significant differences in the production of specific metabolites among the Lactobacillus strains.