Probiotic Lactobacilli Precautions

Many clinical tests researching into the use of probiotics for the treatment of diseases are now available (Bernardo et al., 2013; Khalesi et al., 2014). However, the vast majority of the research has not been directed toward safety issues, although some potential risks have been described. Some empirical concerns regarding the safety of probiotics are the occurrence of disease, adverse metabolic effects on the gastrointestinal tract and gene transfer events (http://www.fao.org/3/a-a0512e.pdf). This study is focused on some general safety issues such as the antimicrobial resistance of the lactobacilli, the convenience of making a proper identification of these bacteria and on recent risk reports on probiotic lactobacilli in certain risk groups, mainly immunocompromised and patients with short gut syndrome or under cardio-surgery.