Abstract
Probiotics are live microorganism that are intended to have health benefits when consumed or applied to the body. Probiotics may contain a variety of microorganism.
Different types of probiotics may have different effects. A great deal of research has been done on probiotics, but much remains to be learned about whether they're helpful and safe for various health conditions.
Probiotics have shown promise for a variety of health purposes, including prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (including dearrhea caused by Clostridium difficile), prevention of necrotizing enterokolitis and sepsis in premature infants, treatment of infant colic, treatment of periodontal disease, and induction or maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis. Eve for the conditions that have been studied the most, researchers are still working toward finding the answers to these questions.
The following sections summarize the research on probiotics for some of the conditions for which they've been studied.