International Journal of Nanomedicine (Nov 2021)
Advancements in the Pharmaceutical Applications of Probiotics: Dosage Forms and Formulation Technology
Abstract
Kshitis Chandra Baral, Rajiv Bajracharya, Sang Hoon Lee, Hyo-Kyung Han BK21 FOUR Team and Integrated Research Institute for Drug Development, College of Pharmacy, Dongguk University-Seoul, Goyang, 10326, KoreaCorrespondence: Hyo-Kyung HanBK21 FOUR Team, College of Pharmacy, Dongguk University-Seoul, Dongguk-ro-32, Ilsan-Donggu, Goyang, 10326, KoreaTel +82-31-961-5217Fax +82-31-961-5206Email [email protected]: Probiotics have demonstrated their high potential to treat and/or prevent various diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammatory diseases. Probiotics are also effective against multidrug-resistant pathogens and help maintain a balanced gut microbiota ecosystem. Accordingly, the global market of probiotics is growing rapidly, and research efforts to develop probiotics into therapeutic adjuvants are gaining momentum. However, because probiotics are living microorganisms, many biological and biopharmaceutical barriers limit their clinical application. Probiotics may lose their activity in the harsh gastric conditions of the stomach or in the presence of bile salts. Moreover, they easily lose their viability under thermal or oxidative stress during their preparation and storage. Therefore, stable formulations of probiotics are required to overcome the various physicochemical, biopharmaceutical, and biological barriers and to maximize their therapeutic effectiveness and clinical applicability. This review provides an overview of the pharmaceutical applications of probiotics and covers recent formulation approaches to optimize the delivery of probiotics with particular emphasis on various dosage forms and formulation technologies.Keywords: probiotic, therapeutic adjuvant, formulation, drug delivery system, gut microbiota
