• Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.575-590
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• 2018

The prevalence of allergic disorders has dramatically increased over the past decade, particularly in developed countries. Apart from gastrointestinal disorders, neoplasia, genital and dermatological diseases etc., dysregulation of gut microbiota (dysbiosis) has also been found to be associated with increased risk of allergies. Probiotics are increasingly being employed to correct dysbiosis and, in turn, to modulate allergic diseases. However, several factors like strain variations and effector metabolites or component of them in a bacterial species can affect the efficacy of those as probiotics. On the other hand, host variations like geographical locations, food habits etc. could also affect the expected results from probiotic usage. Thus, there is a glaring deficiency in our approach to establish probiotics as an irrefutable treatment avenue for suitable disorders. In this review, we explicate on the reported probiotics and their effects on certain allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis, food allergy and asthma to establish their utility. We propose possible measures like elucidation of effector molecules and functional mechanisms of probiotics towards establishing probiotics for therapeutic use. Certain probiotics studies have led to very alarming outcomes which could have been precluded, had effective guidelines been in place. Thus, we also propose ways to secure the safety of probiotics. Overall, our efforts tend to propose necessary discovery and quality assurance guidelines for developing probiotics as potential immunomodulatory 'Pharmabiotics.'

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.229-240
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• 2019

Ever since the definition "live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host"and guidelines of probiotics by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the WHO were announced, the research and product development using probiotics has been hugely successful. As a result, probiotics products become an important part of the functional food market. Recently, thanks to rapidly growing microbiome research, more diverse roles and health benefits of probiotics are being elucidated. Based on those results, pharmabiotics using probiotics are anticipated. In addition, in order to be internationally competitive and distributed, efforts should be made for certification such as GRAS/NDI notification through quality control that meets global standards. In this paper, we reviewed several aspects of probiotics concerning recently amended definition of probiotics, the regulation of probiotics, the strain specificity of efficacy, the association with microbiome research, and the market trends.

• Translational and Clinical Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.103-110
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• 2018

The human microbiome is known to play an essential role in influencing host health. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have also been reported to act on a variety of signaling pathways, distally transport cellular components such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acid, and have immunomodulatory effects. Here we shall review the current understanding of the intersectionality of the human microbiome and EVs in the emerging field of microbiota-derived EVs and their pharmacological potential. Microbes secrete several classes of EVs: outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), membrane vesicles (MVs), and apoptotic bodies. EV biogenesis is unique to each cell and regulated by sophisticated signaling pathways. EVs are primarily composed of lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and recent evidence suggests they may also carry metabolites. These components interact with host cells and control various cellular processes by transferring their constituents. The pharmacological potential of microbiome-derived EVs as vaccine candidates, biomarkers, and a smart drug delivery system is a promising area of future research. Therefore, it is necessary to elucidate in detail the mechanisms of microbiome-derived EV action in host health in a multi-disciplinary manner.