Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, Department of Medicine,Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland.
Nutr Clin Pract. 2012 Apr;27(2):195-200. doi: 10.1177/0884533611423926. Epub 2011 Nov 29.
For decades, if not centuries, a variety of products with what would now be regarded as prebiotic and probiotic properties have been consumed by the general public and advocated for their benefits on health and, in particular, gastrointestinal well-being. More recently, medical science has taken a great interest in the population of micro-organisms, the gut microbiota that normally populates the human gut, and the range of important functions carried out by the microbiota in health is being progressively defined. As a corollary, the list of disorders and diseases that may result from disruption of the normal microbiota and/or its interaction with the host continues to grow. A scientific basis for the use of probiotics and prebiotics is, therefore, beginning to emerge. Unfortunately, although progress has been made, the clinical evidence to support the use of these preparations lags behind. Nevertheless, a number of human disease states may benefit from the use of probiotics, most notably, diarrheal illnesses, some inflammatory bowel diseases, certain infectious disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome. Prebiotics promote the growth of "good" bacteria, and although a variety of health benefits have been attributed to their use, prebiotics have been subjected to few large-scale clinical trials.
几十年来，如果不是几个世纪的话，各种具有现在所谓的益生元和益生菌特性的产品一直被公众消费，并因其对健康的益处而受到推崇，特别是对胃肠道健康有益。最近，医学科学对微生物群（通常存在于人类肠道中的肠道微生物群）产生了浓厚的兴趣，并且微生物群在健康中发挥的一系列重要功能正在逐步确定。因此，可能由于正常微生物群的破坏和/或其与宿主的相互作用而导致的疾病和病症的清单不断增加。因此，益生菌和益生元的使用开始有了科学依据。不幸的是，尽管已经取得了进展，但支持这些制剂使用的临床证据仍落后于实际需求。然而，一些人类疾病状态可能受益于益生菌的使用，最值得注意的是腹泻病、一些炎症性肠病、某些传染病和肠易激综合征。益生元促进“有益”细菌的生长，尽管已经将各种健康益处归因于它们的使用，但对益生元的大规模临床试验却很少。
