Relation between Beneficial Effects of Probiotics and Human Gut Microbiota

Abstract

Probiotics have been widely utilized in foods for a long time, especially fermented foods, as live microorganisms conferring a health benefit on the host. Recent advances in the techniques of microbiota analysis have revealed that there are relations between gut microbiota and the pathogenesis of several diseases. Therefore, the use of probiotics is expanding from healthy individuals to the treatment of diseases. In this article, we review randomized controlled clinical trials which have evaluated the efficacy of probiotics on the health status of healthy subjects and patients suffering from immune-related, metabolic and neuropsychological diseases. There is not enough data showing the efficacy of probiotics on health through modification of gut microbiota. Introducing alternative ways to evaluate microbiota functions such as metagenome and metatranscriptome methods will be essential for the accumulation of evidence of relationships between the beneficial effects of probiotics and gut microbiota.