Pharmacist Recommendations on the Use of Probiotics

Sa？etak A growing body of scientific evidence has linked disorders of the gut microbiota with the occurrence of certain systemic diseases or diseases of particular organ systems. As a result, probiotics are nowadays increasingly used as dietary supplements in the prevention or treatment of various clinical conditions. Adequate patient counselling on the use of probiotics is considerably hampered by several factors, primarily the low level of evidence on efficacy and the lack of clear guidelines on the type and dose of the probiotic, as well as on the duration of supplementation with regard to specific diseases. An additional problem is the increasing number of preparations available on the market, inconsistencies in the declaration of certain probiotic strains and species, and the variable quality of supplements. The aim of this paper is to summarize the latest findings on the efficacy of probiotics in particular indications in order to facilitate patient counselling in day-to-day pharmacy practice