Probiotics and Their Potential Applications: An Introduction

Probiotics constitute beneficial microorganisms or their components reported for their health benefits to the hosts. A plethora of research conducted over the past three decades resulted in elucidating the association of probiotic strains under different clinical manifestations. Although several mechanisms have been reported behind these beneficial activities of these strains, the biological activity is still strain specific which needs further investigation using suitable animal models and clinical trials. This chapter reviews the details on different genera used as probiotic, their potential health benefits and mechanisms behind these effects. The formulation of different dairy or non-dairy products and pharmaceutical formulations has also been discussed.