[Natural therapy instead of chemistry? Probiotics in gastroenterology]

Probiotics are living microorganisms that upon ingestion exert health benefits. The impact of probiotics on gut flora represents a new and interesting therapeutic approach in a number of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. According to actual publications and guidelines of medical societies, the clinical relevance of probiotics can be described as follows: (a) In the case of ulcerative colitis, available data demonstrate benefits of probiotic therapy. (b) The available data regarding pouchitis are limited, but the therapeutic effect seems to be excellent. (c) In the case of Crohn's disease, the role of probiotics is not clearly defined, thus the results of new trials have to be awaited before probiotic therapy is recommended. (d) Further indications such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea, acute pancreatitis or irritable bowel syndrome have been reported recently. The results of these clinical trials have been encouraging, but they often included only a small number of patients and therefore a clear-cut assessment seems difficult at the moment.