Publication:

Synbiotics in oral immunity: a review

The oral cavity harbors numerous and varied microbial flora. The existence of probiotics in the indigenous oral micro flora of humans warrants exploration because these bacteria offer the advantage of being perfectly adapted to the oral ecosystem. The concept of probiotics probably dates back to 1908 when the long life of Bulgarian peasants was the result of their lifelong consumption of fermented milk products. The pursuit of original observation of the positive role played by some selected bacteria, as investigated by Elie Metchnikoff, the Ukrainian-born Nobel Prize winner working at the Pasteur Institute, at the beginning of the last century much still remains to be done to standardize the meaning of the term synbiotic and which strains actually fulfil the criteria of true synbiotic microorganisms. Since, there are established reports in its applicability, this opens up a new era of interest.