What Else May Probiotics Do In Adults?

[Guest guest]

Science News

What Else May Probiotics Do In Adults?

ScienceDaily (May 20, 2008) — Probiotic bacteria, defined as living microorganisms that have beneficial effects on human health, have mostly been studied in the prevention and treatment of different gastrointestinal diseases and allergies. Probiotic products, however, are usually consumed by the general, healthy population but not much is known what kind of effects they have on the immune system in healthy adults.

It is not clear how probiotics exert their health effects, but one of the most probable action mechanisms is the modulation of immune responses via the gut's mucosal immune system.

This study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of probiotics bacteria in healthy adults. It was found that probiotics have an anti-inflammatory potential seen as a decrease in serum CRP levels and as a reduction in bacteria-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Understanding of the specific immunomodulatory effects of probiotics may help in designing future probiotics for targeted purposes. As the effects in the present study were investigated in healthy adults, the real impact of probiotics on inflammatory variables warrants further evaluation during inflammatory processes and in individuals suffering from various types of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.

This research was carried out in collaboration with University of Helsinki (Finland), Valio Research Centre (Finland), and the National Public Health Institute (Finland). Part of the study was funded by the Academy of Finland.

Journal reference:

Kekkonen RA, Lummela N, Karjalainen H, Latvala S, Tynkkynen S, Järvenpää S, Kautiainen H, Julkunen I, Vapaatalo H, Korpela R. Probiotic intervention has strain-specific anti-inflammatory effects in healthy adults. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(13): 2029-2036 [link]

Adapted from materials provided by World Journal of Gastroenterology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Search ScienceDaily

Number of stories in archives: 44,032

About This Site | Editorial Staff | Awards & Reviews | Contribute News | Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of UseCopyright © 1995-2008 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved — Contact: editor@...

Allergy

Alternative Medicine

Bird Flu

Birth Control

Breast Cancer

Cancer

Diabetes

Diet and Weight Loss

Diseases and Conditions

Fitness

Gene Therapy

Heart Disease

HIV and AIDS

Lung Cancer

Men's Health

Nutrition

Obesity

Pharmacology

Pregnancy and Childbirth

Sexual Health

Skin Care

Stem Cells

Women's Health

.... more topics

ADD and ADHD

Addiction

Alzheimer's

Anxiety

Autism

Depression

Gender Difference

Headaches

Insomnia

Intelligence

Language Acquisition

Parkinson's

Perception

Psychology

Relationships

Schizophrenia

Social Psychology

.... more topics

Agriculture and Food

Animals

Behavior

Biology

Biotechnology

Cell Biology

Cloning

Developmental Biology

Dogs

Dolphins and Whales

Endangered Animals

Extinction

Frogs and Reptiles

Genetically Modified

Marine Biology

Microbes and More

Nature

New Species

Pests and Parasites

Spiders

Zoology

.... more topics

Air Quality

Climate

Coral Reefs

Earthquakes

Ecology

Environmental Science

Geography

Geology

Global Warming

Hurricanes and Cyclones

Ice Ages

Oceanography

Ozone Holes

Pollution

Renewable Energy

Tsunamis

Weather

Wildfires

.... more topics

Astronomy

Astrophysics

Big Bang

Black Holes

Dark Matter

ESA

Extrasolar Planets

Mars

Moon

NASA

Pluto

Saturn

Solar System

Space Missions

Space Station

Space Telescopes

Stars

Sun

.... more topics

Alternative Fuels

Aviation

Biochemistry

Biometric

Chemistry

Detectors

Electronics

Energy Technology

Forensics

Fossil Fuels

Inorganic Chemistry

Nanotechnology

Organic Chemistry

Physics

Quantum Physics

Solar Energy

Technology

Wind Energy

.... more topics

Artificial Intelligence

Communications

Computer Graphics

Computer Modeling

Computer Science

Encryption

Hacking

Mathematics

Quantum Computers

Robotics

Software

Statistics

Video Games

Virtual Reality

.... more topics

Ancient Civilizations

Anthropology

Archaeology

Dinosaurs

Early Climate

Early Humans

Early Mammals

Evolution

Human Evolution

Lost Treasures

Origin of Life

Paleontology

Tyrannosaurus Rex

.... more topics

Front Page

Today's Summaries

Latest Headlines

Search Archives

Email Newsletters

RSS Newsfeeds

News Sections

Health & Medicine

Mind & Brain

Plants & Animals

Space & Time

Earth & Climate

Matter & Energy

Computers & Math

Fossils & Ruins

Health & Medicine

Mind & Brain

Plants & Animals

Space & Time

Earth & Climate

Matter & Energy

Computers & Math

Fossils & Ruins

Health & Medicine

Mind & Brain

Plants & Animals

Space & Time

Earth & Climate

Matter & Energy

Computers & Math

Fossils & Ruins

Health & Medicine

Mind & Brain

Plants & Animals

Space & Time

Earth & Climate

Matter & Energy

Computers & Math

Fossils & Ruins

Health & Medicine

Mind & Brain

Plants & Animals

Space & Time

Earth & Climate

Matter & Energy

Computers & Math

Fossils & Ruins

GIF89a