Probiotics; Past, Present, and Future Perspectives

The origin of probiotics and the use of fermented foods and cultured milk products are quite ancient. However, it was not until the turn of the 20th century that Metchnikoff made intelligent observations that human longevity and health are associated with the consumption of lactic acid bacteria. Since those observations have been made a plethora of probiotic studies in adults and children have been performed. The purpose of this review is to describe the history of probiotics, discuss the current evidence supporting the use of probiotics in a variety of gastrointestinal and non-intestinal conditions, as well as, to focus our attention on where probiotics will be heading in the future with potential new innovations and concepts.