Characteristics of microorganisms used as probiotics and new probiotics

Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms that when properly administered confer a health benefit to the host. Lactic acid bacteria are among the main microorganisms recognized as probiotics. Not all lactic bacteria are considered probiotics as they must meet certain characteristics such as growth at a pH lower than 4.0, are able to exert control on pathogenic bacteria, can survive in the gastrointestinal tract, have tolerance to bile salts, are able to adhere to intestinal mucus and epithelial cells, have the ability to co-aggregate and self-aggregate, etc. Bacteria that possess these characteristics are called traditional probiotics. However, over the years other microorganisms with probiotic potential have been studied. Among the differences between traditional probiotics and new probiotics is their origin, as new probiotics are always isolated from the human gastrointestinal tract, which makes them difficult to cultivate because they are sensitive to oxygen. In contrast, traditional probiotics can be isolated from the gastrointestinal tract, but the main sources are from foods, fermented or not. An important characteristic of new probiotics is that benefits in the treatment of specific diseases are attributed to them. In this review, the main characteristics of traditional probiotics and new probiotics are reviewed.

Keywords

• lactic acid bacteria
• traditional probiotics
• new probiotics