Probiotics and prebiotics: microflora management for improved gut health

Using probiotics and prebiotics to improve gut health.

Recent molecular-based investigations have confirmed the species diversity and metabolic complexity of the human gut microbiota. It is also increasingly clear that the human gut microbiota plays a crucial role in host health, both as a source of infection and environmental insult and, conversely, in protection against disease and maintenance of gut function. Although little is known about the h...

Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics: Gut and Beyond

The human intestinal tract has been colonized by thousands of species of bacteria during the coevolution of man and microbes. Gut-borne microbes outnumber the total number of body tissue cells by a factor of ten. Recent metagenomic analysis of the human gut microbiota has revealed the presence of some 3.3 million genes, as compared to the mere 23 thousand genes present in the cells of the tissu...

Probiotics , Prebiotics and the Gut Microbiota

Probiotics for Gut Health

Infectious diarrhoea is an intestinal disturbance caused by a pathogenic microbe. One of the body's responses to such an infection is to try to flush the microbe out of the intestine. This occurs by water flowing from the body into the intestinal space and by increased intestinal muscle contractions. With more water in the intestine and the content travelling more quickly, the person experience...

Health Benefits of Probiotics and Prebiotics

Packaged Facts estimates the global retail market for probiotic and prebiotic foods and beverages at approximately $15.4 billion in 2008; that total represents a 12.5% increase over estimated 2007 sales of $13.7 billion. In 2008, the growth rate for the probiotic and prebiotic food and beverage market ranged from 5% to more than 30%, depending on the region and product type. Packaged Facts anal...