Table 3.

Criteria for use as a probiotic. Adapted from Borchers et al. [20]

The organism must be fully identified: genus, species and strain

No pathogenic effects and toxicity, and must not be associated with disease or be carrying antibiotic resistance genes

It must be viable and stable (at least briefly) in the gastrointestinal tract, and resistant to bile acids and digestive enzymes

It must adhere to mucosal surface and colonize the intestine (at least briefly)

It must be stable during processing and storage

It must have a sufficient number of viable cells

It must undergo in vivo and in vitro trials to prove any attributed probiotic effect and documented clinical benefit