Emerging multi-drug resistant pathogens are the main driving force behind the efforts to find an
alternative treatment approach such as probiotics. Probiotics are considered living drugs that can reduce the
consumption of conventional antibiotics and improve human and animal health. Particularly, bacterial origin
probiotics became increasingly popular during the last two decades as a result of the continuously expanding
scientific evidence pointing to their beneficial effects on human and animal health. In recent years, there has been an
increase in the application of probiotics for the treatment of different infectious diseases and to alleviate the
symptoms of many others, including metabolic disorder-related illnesses and cancer. More specifically, diseases and
ailments such as diarrhea, urogenital infections, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease, and a host of others have
experienced an increase in the use of certain probiotic bacteria. There are several possible mechanisms by which
probiotic bacteria can inhibit the effect of other pathogenic microorganisms. This review, therefore, provides an
overview of the current status of bacterial probiotics with special emphasis on therapeutic purpose, mechanisms of
action, and their selection criteria. It also highlights the emerging pieces of evidence concerning the role of
probiotics in health and disease, and the potential limitations and challenges of probiotic development as a novel
therapeutic agent. CLICK TO REVIEW
Keywords: bacteria, drug-resistance, novel therapeutics, probiotics, mechanisms of action, health, diseases