The Unexplored Role of Probiotics on the Parasitic Pathogens

Abstract

The beneficial bacteria coined as probiotics are used as therapeutics to the host and evidences are there to demonstrate to treat bacterial and viral respiratory infections, gastrointestinal diseases, eczema, inflammation, H. pylori infection, irritable bowel syndrome and allergic symptoms etc. In recent past, probiotics has been reported for the control of intestinal parasite infections as well as few non-gut infections spread among human and veterinary animals. Animal models and in vitro culture systems have been studied regarding cellular interactions between probiotics and pathogens or relevant host cells, though the underlying molecular mechanisms mediating the beneficial effects have not yet fully discovered. Hence, more evidence based studies are warranted to correlate whether probiotics through multiple mechanisms might indeed provide a strain-specific protection against parasites to use it as therapeutics. This article has described the effect of probiotics in some of the intestinal as well as non-gut parasites and suggested the scope of exploring the benefit for protozoan parasite Leishmania, as India is planning for the elimination of the disease.