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Probiotics – A way to fortification
Probiotics – A way to fortification
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 08:00 IST
Nowadays, food is fortified with vitamins and minerals to improve its nutrient value. Apart from addition of purified vitamins and minerals, certain foods may be fortified by natural fermentation of food, thereby, improving the overall nutritional quality of raw food item. Probiotics are the latest examples of this type of fortification. These food items are termed as health food / functional food.
Fortified foods
Fortified foods are items that have vitamins and minerals that are not naturally occurring but added. In the present busy world, people become multitaskmasters and when it comes to keeping up with their daily nutritional needs, they expect their foods to multitask as well. Fortification is mainly performed because a lot of what we people eat is not healthy in its natural form. Processing of foods sometimes destroys vitamins and minerals. To repair the damage, food is enriched by addition of vitamins and minerals.
Live organisms
Probiotics are ‘live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’ (FAO/WHO, 2002). A very old quote given by Hippocrates, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food,” is certainly the belief of today. History provides us a few clues on how different cultures promoted their intestinal health in ancient times. Years ago, people used fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut – as food preservatives and as support for intestinal and overall health.
Consumption
Here are a few examples of probiotics consumed by people from different countries:
During Roman times, people ate sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) because of its taste and benefits to their overall health.
In ancient Indian society, it was common place (and still is) to enjoy a before-dinner yogurt drink called lassi. These Indian traditions were based on the principle of using sour milk as a probiotic delivery system to the body.
Bulgarians are known both for their health and high consumption of fermented milk and kefir.
In Asian cultures, consumption of pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots is common.
People of the Ukraine region consume probiotic foods like sauerkraut, raw yogurt, and buttermilk.
Tradition
The interesting thing was most of these dietary habits were born from tradition and no one really knew or understood why they were so healthy to the digestive system. The concept of probiotics (Probiotic is a Greek terminology, means “For Life”) was introduced in early 20th century by Elie Metchnikoff (Nobel Prize, 1908) in his book The prolongation of life. Metchnikoff studied the phenomenon, why people in Bulgaria have been living to be over 100 years old. He attributed their health and longevity to a microbe in the widely eaten Bulgarian yogurt, and he named the yogurt culturing microbe after the Bulgarians – Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
Henry Tissier from the Pasture Institute was the first to isolate a Bifidobacterium. He isolated the bacterium from a breast-fed infant and named it Bacillus bifidus communis. This bacterium was later renamed Bifidobacterium bifidum. Tissier proved that bifidobacteria are the predominant flora of breast-fed babies and he recommended administration of bifidobacteria to infants suffering from diarrhoea. The mechanism claimed was that bifidobacteria would displace the proteolytic bacteria that cause the disease.
The first known probiotic was fermented milk for human consumption. Probiotic can be used as growth promoters, for lactose intolerance, anti-tumour and anticholestrolaemic effects. Nowadays probiotics have been extensively studied under in-vitro, in-vovo condition for the control of heart disease, allergic reaction, cancer, diarrhoea etc. Probiotics also bring relief from constipation. Research has also proved anti-tumour activities due to inhibition of tumour cells, destruction of carcinogens etc. by use of probiotics.
Important features
A probiotics agent should be non-pathogenic, non-toxic, resistant to gastric acids, adhering to gut epithelial tissue and producing antimicrobial substances. It should persist in gastro-intestinal tract for longer period to influence metabolic activities like cholesterol assimilation, lactase activity and vitamin production.
Composition
Bacteria, moulds and yeast can be used as probiotics but prominently probiotics are bacteria. Among bacteria most popular one is lactic acid bacteria.
Commercially used probiotics
Probiotic food may contain a single bacterial strain or a mixture / consortium of lactic acid bacteria. It can be in powder form, liquid form, gel paste, granules or available in the form of capsules, sachets etc.
Mechanism of action
Mechanism for the benefits of probiotics is not completely understood. Generally probiotics have multiple modes of action, e.g.
1. They suppress the growth or epithelial binding / invasion by pathogenic bacteria
2. They colonise and adhere to the colon and reinforce the barrier function of the intestinal mucosa helping in the management of intestinal infection and food allergies.
3. They secrete antimicrobial substances called bacteriocins.
4. They increase the levels of circulating immunoglobulins especially immunoglobulin A in infants infested with rotavorin.
5. They enhance the nonspecific immune phagocytic activity of circulating blood granulocytes.
6. They potentiate intestinal immune response to viral infection.
7. They increase the frequency of interferon and producing peripheral blood monocytes.
8. They secrete certain proteolytic enzymes which digest the bacterial toxins.
9. They alter the initiation and / or promotional events of the chemically-induced tumours by binding to the chemical carcinogen.
Present status in India
In India, Probiotics are not very commonly used for human consumption but these are often used as veterinary and poultry feed supplement. Sporolac (using Sporolactobacilli) Saccharomyces boulardii and yogurt (L.bulgaricus + L. thermophillus) are the most commonly used bacteria for human consumption. Lactobacilli soluble are commonly prescribed in India for paediatric patient.
Safety and legislation (www. icmr.nic.in/guide/PROBIOTICS)
In India, there are no regulatory guidelines for probiotic foods. In the absence of any such standards and guidelines, there is great scope for spurious products with false claims being marketed. Therefore, it becomes imperative that these products fulfil some essential criteria before being labelled as a ‘probiotic product.’ A defined approach is therefore needed for formulating guidelines and regulations for evaluating the safety and efficacy of probiotics in India which should be in consonance with current international standards.
Keeping in view the above, a committee was constituted by ICMR, comprising experts from varied fields to develop guidelines for evaluation of probiotics in food in India. This committee took into consideration the guidelines available in different parts of the world and deliberated on the various aspects to be covered. The guidelines set forth are meant to be followed for a strain or food to be termed as ‘probiotic’ for marketing in India are as follows:
1. Strain identification by phenotypic and genotyping method
Genus, species and strain
Deposit strain in an internationally recognised collection
2. Screening of potential probiotic strain
In vitro test
3. In vivo studies in validated animal models for
Safety
Efficacy
4. In vivo studies in humans for clinical evaluation
Phase 1 (safety)
Phase 2 (efficacy)
Phase 3 (effectiveness)
5. Production of probiotic food using potential probiotic strain
6. Labelling requirement
Genus species strain
Minimum viable number of probiotics at level at which efficacy is claimed and at the end of shelf life
Health claim(s)
Serving size for efficacy
Storage condition
Conclusion:
Probiotics are nowadays finding place in the present food market because of the innumerable benefits e.g., treating lactose intolerance, hypercholesterol problem, managing cardiac problems like atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. Today probiotics are available in a variety of food products and supplements as we can see many advertisements in the print media for fermented milk and yogurt items. With the current focus on disease prevention and the quest for optimal health at all ages, the potential of probiotics market is enormous. Health professionals are in an ideal position to help and guide their clients toward appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic uses of probiotics that deliver the desired beneficial health effects. In recent years, there has been an upsurge in research in probiotics as well as growing commercial interest in the probiotic food concept. This increased research has resulted in significant advances in our understanding and ability to characterise specific probiotic organisms, which has resulted in an increasing amount of evidence indicating health benefits by consumption of food containing probiotics.
(The writers are with division of microbiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute,
New Delhi)
Vegetarian, Raw and Vegan with Bill & Sheila
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