Table 1.

The commonly used species in probiotics, mechanisms of action, and effects

Probiotics	Examples	Mechanism	Beneficial health effects
Lactobacillus sp	L acidophilus L delbrueckii subsp bulgaricus L casei L cellobiosis L fermentum L curvatus L returi L plantarum L brevis L lactis	Increasing mucin production via Increased expression of MUC 2	Improved mucosal immune function, mucin secretion, and disease prevention Adhering to human intestinal cells and balancing intestinal microflora mproved lactose digestion and decreased diarrhea
Bifidibacterium sp.	B bifidum B adolescentis B thermophilum B animalis B infantis B longum	Cytokine production Blocking proinflammatory	Used in treating rotavirus diarrhea, balancing intestinal microflora, and treating viral diarrhea
Enterococcus sp.	E faecalis E faecium	Prevention of pathogenic strains from adhering to epithelial cells	Decreased duration of acute diarrhea from gastroenteritis
Streptococcus sp.	S cremoris S salivarius S diaacetylactis S intermedius	Immune modulation by attenuating IL-8 secretion or blocking the degradation of the counter-regulatory factor IκB	Shortening of duration of acute gastroenteritis Prevention and treatment of C difficile diarrhea and traveler’s diarrhea
Bacillus sp.	B licheniformis B subtilis B polyfermenticus B coagulans B laterosporus B polymyxa B pumilus B clausii B cereus var toyoi	Enhanced antibody production Enhanced phagocytic activity	Used as a prophylactic, and in prevention of GIT infections
Pediococcus sp.	P acidilactici	Blocking proinflammatory molecules Increasing mucosal immunity	Enhanced immune responses against infectious coccidioidal diseases