In India food reflects the warmth, hospitality, status, symbol of wealth and aesthetics. The synergistic combination of pre and probiotics is known as synbiotics. Regular consumption of synbiotics in diets imparts health benefits like improved immune response, maintain intestinal integrity, decrease intestinal infections and down regulate the allergic response, influence digestion and gastric motility. Because of the changes in life styles due to globalization, unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity and exposure to tobacco smoke or harmful use of alcohol non communicable diseases are disproportionately affecting the 80% of low and middle income countries. This review covers the mechanism of probiotic action, use of probiotics in treatment and prevention of diseases of modern age, progress in delivery systems for the administration and finally some regulatory considerations. In conclusion, combined skills of the microbiologist, food technologist and clinician are necessary to sustain effect of probiotics. The role of probiotic organisms as alternative or complementary therapy in combating a large number of disorders can be achieved with balance and healthy life style as well as clean external environmental conditions. It is hoped that more detailed research will be conducted regarding the efficacy of probiotics so that clinically well documented and simplest formulation will be developed and can be regarded as effective for everyone. With validated results strong market will be formed and expanded in near future.

Objective: To examine the survivability and stability of probiotic strains in presence and absence of pharmaceutical excipients for a long period of time at (4 ± 1) ℃. Methods: The survival rates of probiotic strains, Pediococcus pentosaceus GS4 (MTCC12683)(NCBI HM044322),GS17(NCBI KJ608061)and Lactobacillus gasseri (ATCC 19992), were evaluated. Probiotic strains were lyophilized individually and in combination of excipients (sorbitol, ascorbic acid, fructose and skim milk). The prepa-ration was monitored for 120 d storing at(4 ± 1) ℃.During storage,all the preparations were evaluated for viability and stability of probiotic properties like lactic acid produc-tion, antimicrobial effect,water activity,and adherence to epithelial cells. Results: Sorbitol,ascorbic acid and skim milk favoured the viability of freeze-dried cells and sustained probiotic properties during storage. Without excipients (control group), strains showed percentage of survivability not more than 70% while strains with excip-ients survived for 73%–93% for a long period of time. Conclusions: Commonly used excipients can be considered as a vehicle for delivering active principle in probiotic formulation and for sustaining the viability and stability of probiotic strains for a period of 120 d.

Objective To examine the survivability and stability of probiotic strains in presence and absence of pharmaceutical excipients for a long period of time at (4 ± 1) °C. Methods The survival rates of probiotic strains, Pediococcus pentosaceus GS4 (MTCC12683) (NCBI HM044322), GS17 (NCBI KJ608061) and Lactobacillus gasseri (ATCC 19992), were evaluated. Probiotic strains were lyophilized individually and in combination of excipients (sorbitol, ascorbic acid, fructose and skim milk). The preparation was monitored for 120 d storing at (4 ± 1) °C. During storage, all the preparations were evaluated for viability and stability of probiotic properties like lactic acid production, antimicrobial effect, water activity, and adherence to epithelial cells. Results Sorbitol, ascorbic acid and skim milk favoured the viability of freeze-dried cells and sustained probiotic properties during storage. Without excipients (control group), strains showed percentage of survivability not more than 70% while strains with excipients survived for 73%–93% for a long period of time. Conclusions Commonly used excipients can be considered as a vehicle for delivering active principle in probiotic formulation and for sustaining the viability and stability of probiotic strains for a period of 120 d.