From yaks to yogurt: the history, development, and current use of probiotics
Abstract
The development of probiotics, which are living bacteria or yeasts used to confer a health benefit on the host, has paralleled our research in food preservation, microbiologic identification techniques, and our understanding of how the complex interactions in microbiota impact the host's health and recovery from disease. This review briefly describes the history of probiotics, where probiotic strains were originally isolated, and the types of probiotic products currently available on the global market. In addition, the uses or indications for these probiotics are described, along with the types of clinical investigations that have been done. Continuing challenges persist for the proper probiotic strain identification, regulatory pathways, and how healthcare providers can choose a specific strain to recommend to their patients.
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Lactobacilli improve inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel conditions and reduce blood pressure in pre-hypertensive and hypertensive patients.
“as well as improve inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel conditions and reduce blood pressure in pre-hypertensive and hypertensive patients[401,403,414].”
From Enterosalivary nitrate metabolism and the microbiome: Intersection of microbial metabolism, nitric oxide and diet in cardiac and pulmonary vascular health (2017) · cites this paper as [401]
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“One review of the literature from 1977 to 2014 detailed 477 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), encompassing over 15 different types of diseases (typically prevention or treatment of acute intestinal diseases) with >25 different types of probiotic strains or mixtures (2).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citation
- Authors
- McFarland, L. V.
- Affiliations
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- McFarland, L. V.
- ORCID
- McFarland, L. V.
- Venue
- Clinical Infectious Diseases
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-04-28
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- suppl 2
- Pages
- S85-S90
- ISSN
- 1058-4838 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-6591
- OpenAlex
- W2051083422
- Cited by
- 248
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 2.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Infectious Diseases (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Keywords
- probiotics, history of probiotics, probiotic products, probiotic regulation, gut microbiota, food preservation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Cattle, Diarrhea, Humans, Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, Yogurt, Probiotics, Marketing
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