Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. There is now mounting evidence that selected probiotic strains can provide health benefits to their human hosts. Numerous clinical trials show that certain strains can improve the outcome of intestinal infections by reducing the duration of diarrhea. Further investigations have shown benefits in reducing the recurrence of urogenital infections in women, while promising studies in cancer and allergies require research into the mechanisms of activity for particular strains and better-designed trials. At present, only a small percentage of physicians either know of probiotics or understand their potential applicability to patient care. Thus, probiotics are not yet part of the clinical arsenal for prevention and treatment of disease or maintenance of health. The establishment of accepted standards and guidelines, proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, represents a key step in ensuring that reliable products with suitable, informative health claims become available. Based upon the evidence to date, future advances with single- and multiple-strain therapies are on the horizon for the management of a number of debilitating and even fatal conditions.

中文翻译：

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益生菌在临床实践中的潜在用途。


益生菌被定义为活的微生物，当摄入足够量时，可为宿主带来健康益处。现在越来越多的证据表明，选定的益生菌菌株可以为其人类宿主带来健康益处。大量临床试验表明，某些菌株可以通过缩短腹泻持续时间来改善肠道感染的结果。进一步的研究表明，对于减少女性泌尿生殖道感染的复发有好处，而在癌症和过敏方面有希望的研究需要研究特定菌株的活性机制和更好设计的试验。目前，只有一小部分医生了解益生菌或了解其对患者护理的潜在适用性。因此，益生菌尚未成为预防和治疗疾病或维持健康的临床武器库的一部分。联合国粮食及农业组织和世界卫生组织提出的公认标准和准则的制定是确保提供具有适当、信息丰富的健康声明的可靠产品的关键一步。根据迄今为止的证据，单菌株和多菌株疗法的未来进展有望用于治疗许多使人衰弱甚至致命的疾病。