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Lactobacillus GG

Probiotics are living microbial food additives, that have beneficial effect on the microbiological balance of the intestine and human health. Probiotics are used as functional food. Probiotics are viable microbial preparations which promote health by maintaining the natural microflora in the gut. Most of probiotics are lactic acid bacteria, mainly lactobacilli. Lactobacilli are included in the microbial flora of healthy intestines. It has been assumed that Lactobacilli act in the intestinal tract by competing for receptors and nutrients against pathogenic microbes on the intestinal mucosa. Lactobacilli are non-pathogenic micro-organisms, colonising the human intestinal and urogenital tract from early childhood to old age. A microbial preparation can be acknowledged as a probiotic if the functioning microbes thereof and their mode of action are known. The probiotics attach on the intestinal mucosa, colonize the human intestinal tract and prevent attachment of harmful microbes. A crucial presumption is that they get up to the gut's mucosa and do not get destroyed in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. Lactobacillus GG is one of known bacteria having probiotic characteristics. The genus Lactobacillus is widely distributed in nature. Several species, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, are components of the normal intestinal flora of healthy humans. Other species, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Lactobacillus casei, are found in dairy products as well as in various fruits and vegetables. Lactobacillus strain GG as recently been shown to promote local IgA responses against dietary antigens encountered by the enteric route and may therefore aid in immune elimination.

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