ビフィズス菌による感染防御と免疫調節作用

抄録

 Probiotics are traditionally defined as live microorganisms that may beneficially affect the host by changing the balance of the intestinal microflora. Additionally, recently probiotics are known to exert physiological effects by modulating directly the immune responses. There are many mechanisms by which probiotics can enhance the host's health. The administration of probiotics to humans is expected to have effects on the prevention of infections, diarrhea, allergy and many other diseases. In the intestinal tract, bifidobacteria are the predominant microorganisms and one of the sources of antiinfective components in immature infants. Therefore, this review introduces current findings about the antiinfective and immunomodulatory effects of bifidobacteria.