Table 1.

Microorganisms with reported probiotic potential.

Probiotic group	Species	Details of a representative study	Reference
Bifidobacteria	Bifidobacterium animalis	Fermented oat milk with B. animalis sp. lactis BB-12®; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial; n = 209; 35% improvement in bowel movement.	Pitkala et al. (2007), Jungersen et al. (2014)
	B. breve	B. breve M16-V powder with or without starch; F344/Du rat pups; n = 46; downregulation of the expression of inflammatory molecules.	Shimakawa et al. (2003)
	B. adolescentis	B. adolescentis ATCC 101; female germ-free rats; n = 30; significant modulation of both systemic and the intestinal immune response to Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron DSMZ 2079.	Scharek et al. (2000)
	B. longum	B. longum, isolated from human GIT; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial; n = 29; significant inhibitory effect on viral gastroenteritis symptoms.	Lee et al. (2014b)
	B. infantis	B. infantis 35624 was administered by gavage; C57BL/6 mice; n = 64; decrease in the severity of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis, immunomodulation.	Konieczna et al. (2013)
Lactobacilli	L. acidophilus	L. acidophilus – SDC, administered in capsules; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial; n = 40; 23.6% reduction (compared to placebo) in the severity (pain, discomfort) of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.	Sinn et al. (2008)
	L. fermentum, L. amylovorus	Microencapsulated bacteria; double-blind randomized placebo controlled clinical trial; n = 28, obese adults; L. fermentum – 3% loss in total fat mass, L. amylovorus – 4% loss in total fat mass, a significant reduction in the abundance of Clostridial cluster IV.	Omar et al. (2013)
	L. rhamnosus	L. rhamnosus GG powder; double-blind randomized clinical trial; n = 559; decrease in frequency and duration of acute watery diarrhea.	Basu et al. (2009)
	L. paracasei	L. paracasei ST11, lyophilized form; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial; n = 230, male infants and young children; significant benefit in the management of children with non-rotavirus-induced diarrhea.	Sarker et al. (2005)
	L. johnsonii	L. johnsonii La1 in dietary product; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial; n = 326, children, found positive for Helicobacter pylori; significant decrease in σ13CO2 above baseline values (outcome of a test for H. pylori).	Cruchet et al. (2003)
	L. reuteri	L. reuteri SD 2112; randomized controlled clinical tral; n = 40, infants and children; significant decrease in diarrhea symptoms.	Shornikova et al. (1997)
	Pediococcus pentosaceus	P. pentosaceus NB-17; mouse spleen cells were co-cultivated with heat-killed bacteria; in vitro investigation of the production of cytokines; effective stimulation of immune activities and allergic inhibitory effects.	Jonganurakkun et al. (2008)
	Oenococcus oeni	O. oeni 9115; female BALB/c mice with 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced experimental colitis; n = 20; significant decrease in severity of colitis. Several O. oeni strains were able to modulate the immune response of immunocompetent cells in vitro.	Foligné et al. (2010)
Enterococci	E. durans	E. durans LAB18s; in vitro study; antimicrobial activity, antioxidant ability, evidenced in both culture supernatants and intracellular extracts; resistance to acidic conditions (pH 3) and bile salts.	Pieniz et al. (2014)
	E. faecium	E. faecium MMRA; in vitro study; genes, coding enterocins A, B, P and X; high survival rates under stress caused by acidic pHs (2-5) or bile salts (0.3%), and a high adhesive potential.	Rehaiem et al. (2014)
	E. faecalis	E. faecalis UGRA10; in vitro study; production of AS-48 enterocin; ability to form biofilms and to adhere to Caco 2 and HeLa 229 cells.	Cebrián et al. (2012)
	E. lactis	E. lactis IITRHR1 was administered by gavage; male Wistar rats with acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity; n = 42; pretreatment with the bacterium lowered the level of biomarkers of hepatotoxicity in serum; significant increase in the level of antioxidants; modulation of key apoptotic/anti-apoptotic proteins (cytochrome-c, Bcl2, Bax, expression of caspases).	Sharma et al. (2012)
Yeasts	Saccharomyces boulardii	Granulated S. boulardii; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial; n = 200, children with acute diarrhea; significant decrease in severity of symptoms and duration of hospital stay.	Kurugol and Koturoglu (2005), Kelesidis and Pothoulakis (2012)