Characterization and authentication of probiotic preparations

Abstract

Gut dysbiosis is increasingly being viewed as an important factor with respect to human health and diseases. Probiotics are being proposed as a potential approach to maintain healthy microbiome as well as repair the gut dysbiosis. However confidence of the scientific community and general public in probiotics as an effective complement to support better health depends to a great extent on authentic characterization of the microbial strains in probiotic products with respect to their taxonomy and functionality. Major characterization challenges for the probiotic products are those on the fronts of taxonomic verification at the strain level, quantification of viable microbial load, and validation of the biological efficacy claims.