Nomoto Koji
Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research, Kunitachi-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
J Biosci Bioeng. 2005 Dec;100(6):583-92. doi: 10.1263/jbb.100.583.
'Viable bacteria that exhibit beneficial effects for health based on improvement of balance of intestinal bacterial flora' was the most common definition of probiotics, but the diversity of their action mechanisms, including immune regulation, has been clarified, and probiotics have recently been broadly defined as 'live microorganisms which when administered in adequet amounts confer a health benefit on the host'. Coined words such as prebiotics, describing non-digestible food fiber components that contribute to host health by activating proliferation and function of beneficial intestinal bacteria, and synbiotics, describing a combination of probiotics and prebiotics have also been established as medical expressions. In this report, clinical studies of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on prevention of infection by various infectious diseases in humans are reviewed. The effects of and action mechanisms against sporadic intestinal infectious diseases that are difficult to investigate in humans (enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and Salmonellosis) in experimental animal models are also reviewed. Finally, points necessary for clarification of the role of probiotics in health care, and their functions in health care foods are discussed.
“对健康有益的活菌，基于改善肠道菌群平衡”是益生菌最常见的定义，但它们的作用机制具有多样性，包括免疫调节，现已明确，益生菌最近被广泛定义为“当给予足够数量时能对宿主健康有益的活微生物”。诸如益生元（描述通过激活有益肠道细菌的增殖和功能来促进宿主健康的不可消化膳食纤维成分）和合生元（描述益生菌与益生元的组合）等新造词汇也已成为医学术语。在本报告中，对益生菌、益生元及合生元预防人类各种传染病感染的临床研究进行了综述。还综述了在实验动物模型中针对人类难以研究的散发性肠道传染病（肠出血性大肠杆菌感染和沙门氏菌病）的作用效果及作用机制。最后，讨论了明确益生菌在医疗保健中的作用及其在保健食品中的功能所需的要点。
