Probiotics as Functional Foods
It is recognized that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) provide a wide range of benefits primarily in host health and food, which is why they are considered to be probiotics; i.e., living microorganisms that administered in adequate amounts confer benefits on th
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Probiotics as Functional Foods Dora Elisa Cruz Casas, Martha Leticia Cázares Vásquez, Leticia Anael García Flores, María Andrea Lara Salas, Cristóbal N. Aguilar, Raúl Rodríguez Herrera, and Adriana C. Flores Gallegos
Abstract It is recognized that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) provide a wide range of benefits primarily in host health and food, which is why they are considered to be probiotics; i.e., living microorganisms that administered in adequate amounts confer benefits on the host health. The most representative probiotic strains of LAB include members of the genus Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Enterococcus. In terms of benefits, it has become evident that the consumption of probiotics has been shown to be useful in treating various clinical conditions ranging from childhood diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, relapse of Clostridium difficile colitis, Helicobacter pylori infections, inflammatory bowel disease leading to cancer and urogenital infections. Other beneficial effects of probiotics include increasing nutrient utilization, lowering serum cholesterol, improving lactose intolerance, and decreasing antibiotic use. Its hypocholesterolemic, antimutagenic, antiosteoporotic, antihypertensive, and immunomodulatory effects have also been recognized. This chapter will describe the generalities of probiotics, the main metabolites by which they exert a beneficial effect, as well as the mechanisms by which they protect against various diseases. Keywords Bacteriocins · Diabetes · Exopolysaccharides · Intestinal diseases · Lactic acid bacteria · Organic acids
D. E. Cruz Casas · M. L. Cázares Vásquez · L. A. García Flores · M. A. Lara Salas · C. N. Aguilar · R. Rodríguez Herrera · A. C. Flores Gallegos (*) Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico e-mail: carolinafl[email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 G. Goel, A. Kumar (eds.), Advances in Probiotics for Sustainable Food and Medicine, Microorganisms for Sustainability 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6795-7_6
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Introduction
The intestinal microbiota forms a relatively stable and highly diverse ecosystem that is increasingly being recognized for its impact on human health. Deviation from its normal structure is often related to systemic and localized diseases. Modulation of the intestinal microbiota could be helpful to improve health and could be achieved through different nutritional concepts, ranging from food-specific ingredients to complex diets or by ingestion of special living microorganisms such as probiotics. Probiotics are defined as “living microorganisms which, when administered in appropriate dosage, provide health benefits to the host.” In the last decades the contribution to the modulation of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and immunological functions that probiotics have has begun to be fully appreciated and scientifically evaluated. To this day, most commercially available probiotics are lactic acid bacteria (
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