Abstract
This review focuses on the methodological approaches used to study the efficacy of probiotics to exert a beneficial effect on the host, either in curative (as a drug) or preventive (as food) approaches. It subsequently describes the results obtained with probiotic administration in human trials in a variety of health problems (childhood and adult diarrhoea; travellers' diarrhoea; antibiotic-associated diarrhoea including that caused by C. difficile; HIV-associated diarrhoea; constipation; Candida vaginitis; urinary tract infections; lactose intolerance; hypercholesterolaemia; cancer), novel and future uses for probiotics and safety aspects.