Potentials of Probiotics as Alternative Therapy in Combating Bacterial Diseases: A Review

Abstract

Bacterial diseases have been the major cause of mortality and sufferings the world over. Several treatment modalities were devised against these pathogens; the most prominent of which is antibiotic therapy. However, the treatment modalities most usually employed are either cost effective or associated with some side effects leading to the emergence of new strains of resistant bacteria. Alternative treatment strategies are needed to complement the existing modalities in combating these diseases. Probiotics are live non-pathogenic microorganisms embedded in food and administered to improve microbial balance. They exert their beneficial effects by immune-regulatory actions thereby modifying host’s immune system, by the restoration of gut barrier function, by lowering intestinal pH, decreasing colonization and invasion by pathogenic organisms and by the production of favorable metabolic products through the modulation of the gut microbiota. These actions might inhibit the onset and alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory diseases, such as intestinal and metabolic diseases and allergy. These bring about the treatment of gastritis, bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infections, ulcerative colitis, pouchitis, inflammatory bowel syndrome and crohn’s diseases. Probiotics are usually safer and easy to use because they are consumed as part of fermented foods in yogurt, soy-yogurt or as dietary supplements. Ironically, despite all the obvious potentials of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of human infectious diseases, their use in developing countries like Nigeria is limited, due to lack of awareness which might have perhaps arisen from inadequate information or absence of guiding policy in the health sector for the usage of such therapy. The aim of this study is to review the antibacterial potentials of probiotics therapy in treating bacterial diseases so as to inculcate the spirit of its use in the Nigerian health care policy and guidelines. This would subsequently help in their administration in the prescription system to complement antibiotics therapy so that the threats posed by antibiotics on human health in Nigeria should be reduced to a minimal level.