Floch M H, Hong-Curtiss J
Digestive Disease Section, Yale University School of Medicine, Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, CT 06850, USA.
Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2001 Aug;3(4):343-50. doi: 10.1007/s11894-001-0058-8.
Probiotics are live microbial food supplements that benefit the host animal by improving intestinal microbial balance. When they are fed in yogurts, they can fall into the category of functional foods. Functional foods include these probiotics, prebiotics, and, to a certain extent, dietary fiber. Prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients or supplements that alter the intestinal flora and stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria. Dietary fibers are part of plant foods that are nonstarch polysaccharides and are poorly digested or not digested by human enzymes. The physiologic process in which probiotics and functional foods affect the intestinal flora is through the balance of the intestinal microecology. This review looks at the four major components of intestinal microecology and describes the probiotics in use today and their clinical relevance. Although probiotics hold great promise and appear to be useful in some settings, more clinical study is needed to firmly establish the relevance of probiotic therapy.
益生菌是一种活的微生物食品补充剂，通过改善肠道微生物平衡对宿主动物有益。当它们添加到酸奶中时，可归类为功能性食品。功能性食品包括这些益生菌、益生元，以及在一定程度上还包括膳食纤维。益生元是不可消化的食物成分或补充剂，可改变肠道菌群并刺激健康细菌的生长。膳食纤维是植物性食物的一部分，属于非淀粉多糖，人体酶难以消化或无法消化。益生菌和功能性食品影响肠道菌群的生理过程是通过肠道微生态平衡实现的。本综述探讨了肠道微生态的四个主要组成部分，并描述了目前使用的益生菌及其临床相关性。尽管益生菌前景广阔且在某些情况下似乎很有用，但仍需要更多的临床研究来确定益生菌疗法的相关性。
