Use of probiotics in the treatment of crohn's disease

Abstract

Probiotics can be defined as live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. Because of the numerous beneficial properties that have been attributed to Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), these are the most commonly used probiotic microorganisms. Several studies have shown that LAB possess therapeutic properties since they are able to prevent the development of some diseases as shown mostly using animal models for gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), infections or cancer. Some of the proposed mechanisms of action that account for the beneficial effects of these microorganisms in the course of IBD such as Crohn´s disease and ulcerative colitis includes: changes in the gut microbiota, stabilization of the intestine´s permeability barrier, regulation of the host immune responses and reduction of the oxidative stress due to their antioxidant enzyme production. Probiotic microorganisms, including strains of lactobacilli, lactococci, enterococci, Escherichia coli, bifidobacteria and Saccharomyces, favorably influence the course of experimental colitis in animal models or even in human clinical trials and can potentiate conventional treatments and reduce their side effects. The use of experimental animal models has proven useful in the study of IBD and is a necessary step in testing probiotic administration before launching clinical trials since not all bacterial species have equal activities in promoting or reducing intestinal inflammation. The present chapter will present some examples of studies using animal models and human clinical trials where probiotics were shown to be effective in the prevention or treatment of IBD.