Probiotics and urogenital health

MARÍA ELENA FÁTIMA NADER-MACÍAS; DE GREGORIO PRISCILLA ROMINA

Probiotics

Elseiver

Año: 2021;

Lactobacilli are the predominant microorganisms in the vaginal microbiota of healthy women, maintain the ecological equilibrium, and act in the prevention of infections. Their protective role is exerted through different mechanisms: adhesion/permanence in epithelium/mucosa, competitive exclusion against pathogens, production of antimicrobial compounds, and/or host´s immunomodulation. Therefore, probiotic products with vaginal lactobacilli constitute a novelstrategy to restore vaginal microbiota. In the design of probiotic products, different criteria are applied according to the requirements of regulatory organisms, including host-tract-specificity origin of strains, their phenotypic/genetic identification; functional characterization and mechanisms of action; in-vitro and in-vivo safety evaluation; technological characterization (production, formulation, and shelf-life); efficacy/effectiveness in clinical trials; and label-health claims. This chapter is aimed to review the requirements, probiotic characteristics, and in vitro and in vivo trials published to evidence the effect of probiotic and potentially probiotic strains in vagina