Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide a health benefit when administered in adequate amounts. Their effects depend on the specific strain, dose, and health context.

Gut microbiota: The community of microorganisms living in the digestive tract, together with their genes and ecological interactions. Probiotics interact with this resident community, although effects vary by strain and setting.
Antibiotic-associated diarrhea: Diarrhea that develops during or after antibiotic treatment, often because antibiotics disrupt intestinal microbial communities. Some probiotic preparations reduce its risk, with results depending on strain and patient.
Probiotic strain: A genetically distinct lineage of a microorganism within a named species, identified by a strain designation. Health findings for one strain cannot automatically be applied to another strain of the same species.
Fermented food: Food produced through controlled microbial growth and enzymatic conversion of food components. Fermentation does not guarantee that a food contains live organisms with demonstrated probiotic benefits.
Élie Metchnikoff: A Russian-born zoologist and immunologist who shared the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His proposals linking fermented milk bacteria with longevity helped popularize beneficial-microbe ideas.
Colonization resistance: The ability of a resident microbial community to limit the establishment or growth of invading microorganisms. Some probiotics may help inhibit pathogens by competing for nutrients or attachment sites.
Clostridioides difficile infection: An intestinal infection caused by toxin-producing Clostridioides difficile, often following disruption of gut microbiota by antibiotics. Probiotics have been studied for prevention, but they do not replace established treatment.
Colony-forming unit: A unit estimating the number of viable microorganisms capable of forming colonies under specified culture conditions. Product doses are commonly stated in CFUs, though viability at use also matters.
Fecal microbiota transplantation: A medical procedure that transfers screened donor stool microorganisms into a recipient's intestinal tract. It transfers a complex microbial community rather than a selected probiotic strain or mixture.
Lactobacillus: A historically broad genus of lactic acid bacteria, reorganized into multiple genera in 2020. Many early probiotic products and studies used organisms then classified in this genus.

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