Address for Correspondence:


Girish C. Deshpande, Department of Neonatal Paediatrics, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, 374 Bagot Road, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia 6008. E-mail: girish.deshpande@health.wa.gov.au

Introduction :

Probiotics are defined as live non-pathogenic microbial supplements that colonise the gut while providing benefits to the host.(1) Almost a century ago (1908) Russian scientist and Nobel prize Laureate Elie Metchinkoff proposed the idea of non-pathogenic bacteria for healthy lifestyle on observing the association between prolong lifespan (Average 87 years) and dairy products in the diet of Bulgarian people. What he thought was contained in the diet is what we now know as probiotics. Moro formally discovered lactobacillus in 1990 and gene was mapped in 1999. Probiotics organisms usually consist of Lactobacillus, bifidobacteria and streptococcus species.

Probiotics for neonates :

Hoyas et al (1999) were the first to report significant reduction in the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) following probiotic supplementation in a cohort of preterm neonates. (2) Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium infantis were given to 1237 preterm neonates and the results were compared with 1282 historical controls from the previous year. Significant reduction in NEC (85 vs. 34) was noted in probiotics group. Since then many trials have assessed the benefits of probiotics in reducing NEC, sepsis and allergy in neonates and infants. Prevention of NEC and sepsis in preterm neonates however has been the main focus of probiotics in neonatology (Table1).