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Volume 3 • Issue 1 • 1000e124
Vitam Miner
ISSN: VMS, an open access journal
Vitamins & Minerals
Eck and Friel, Vitam Miner 2013, 3:1
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/vms.1000e124
Editorial Open Access
Should Probiotics be considered as Vitamin Supplements?
Peter Eck and James Friel*
Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada
*Corresponding author: James Friel, Human Nutritional Sciences, University of
Manitoba, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada, Tel: 204-474-8682; Fax: 204-474-7552;
E-mail: james.friel@ad.umanitoba.ca
Received October 24, 2013; Accepted October 24, 2013; Published October 27,
2013
Citation: Eck P, Friel J (2013) Should Probiotics be considered as Vitamin
Supplements? Vitam Miner 3: e124. doi:10.4172/vms.1000e124
Copyright: © 2013 Eck P, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Denition of Probiotics
e denition of probiotics that is widely accepted [1] describes
probiotics as “living microorganisms that on ingestion in certain
numbers exert health benets beyond inherent basic nutrition”. e
important aspects of the denition of probiotics are that probiotics need
to be a live microorganism, such as yeast or bacteria, and probiotics
need to have a health benet. erefore, these microorganisms need
to have undergone in vitro and experimental studies in order to
be properly named a benecial strain of probiotics, and to prove its
health benet and safety. An extensive body of evidence demonstrates
that probiotics have a clinical use and can be recommended in the
treatment of certain diseases, such as antibiotic induced diarrhoea,
infectious diarrhoea of adults and children and prevention of atopic
eczema and cow’s milk allergy [2]. Naming the species is important
are there are multiple microorganisms that can be classied under
the general term “probiotics” yet each may have a dierent eect on
metabolism. us, knowledge of which organism is used is crucial in
designing experiments or making claims of function. As they become
more popular and easily available, we need specic knowledge of
function. New sequencing techniques that seem to evolve year by year
are revealing more and more species of bacteria in the human body that
previously we were unaware of.
Microbiome
e Microbiome is a heterogeneous system consisting of millions
of microbes that share our body space, leading some to suggest it is
a “newly discovered organ”. It has been shown that the interaction
between the microbiome and its host play a major role in immune
modulation, as well as in several metabolic functions. Colonization of
the gut starts before birth, and is dependent on known factors such as
mode of delivery, type of feeding and gestational age. Disequilibrium
between the benecial and pathogenic bacteria of the gut will lead to
alteration in the defence barrier mechanisms and in immune functions,
and is associated with a number of acute and chronic conditions, such
as sepsis, NEC, inammatory bowel disease (IBD), type 2 diabetes,
allergy and obesity. Supplemental bacteria have been demonstrated
to modulate a variety of disorders in children and adults, including:
inammatory bowel diseases [3]; bowel cancer [4], ulcerative colitis
[5]; irritable bowel syndrome [6], obesity [7], cholesterol levels [8] and
diarrhea, secondary to oral antibiotics [9].
Microorganisms in the Gut and its Function
Bacteria in the lumen of the digestive system can be classied
accordingly: (a) benecial; (b) potentially pathogenic; and (c)
pathogenic bacteria. Probiotics are within the pool of benecial bacteria.
Two of the most common benecial bacteria are Lactobacillus sp. and
Bidobacter sp. With respect to the gastrointestinal environment,
the benecial microora has three important functions: metabolic,
trophic and protective [10]. For example, bacteria produce short-
chain fatty acids and vitamins and participate in mucosal epithelial cell
proliferation and dierentiation.
Probiotics and VitaminProduction
Vitamins are essential micronutrients that are necessary for vital
reactions in all living cells. We humans are incapable of synthesizing
most vitamins in amounts required to meet our physiological needs,
and so they consequently have to be obtained exogenously. One of
the multiples benets that probiotics have is the capacity to synthesize
vitamins. We have known for some time that commensal bacteria
produce vitamins, particularly B vitamins, and play a major role in
meeting our needs for these essential nutrients. What we now have to
consider with the advent of probiotics as a player in achieving optimal
health is how much of a role do they play as vitamin supplements?
is is uncharted territory and indeed, while we know vitamin K is
produced by bacteria in the gut, recent evidence indicates vitamin D
is as well [11]. In vitro and studies in humans have documented the
capacity of some probiotic strains to synthesize vitamin K, folic Acid,
vitamin B2 and B12. As we are able to identify more and more strains
in the human microbiome, it may be only a matter of time until we
identify new species that produce all the known vitamins, and may I
daresay newly discovered vitamins as well!
To remind you: ere are two dierent forms of vitamin K,
Phylloquinone or vitamin K1, present in all photosynthetic plants and
menaquinons, or Vitamin K2 which is primarily of bacterial origin
[12]. It has been demonstrated in vitro that strains of Lactobacillus
produce high levels of folate (about 100 µg/L). e same is possible
with bidobacteria strains, which may contribute to folate intake,
due to the synthesis and secretion of folates in the human intestine
by bidobacteria [13]. It has been demonstrated in human and piglet
that the quantity of folate produced in the intestine aects folate status
[14]. e production of vitamin B1 and B2 by bacteria contributes to the
total intake of vitamin B1 and B2 [15]. It was reported that Lactobacillus
reuteri CRL1098 was able to produce B12 [16].
Although it is very clear that microbes can synthesize most likely all
known vitamins, it is far from clear how much they can be a source of
vitamins. Important issues are: a) the microbes might produce vitamins,
but they might not be excreted, or might not survive the challenges of
the other microora, and therefore, be catabolized before they can be
absorbed. b) is raises the second issue, absorption: most transporters
for vitamins are in the duodenum and ileum, not in places where most
of the microbes are found. erefore, it needs to be established if the
vitamins, even if produced in high amounts and not metabolized, are
bioavailable. For example, the special case of Vitamin B12, which needs
intrinsic factor to be absorbed. e vitamin B12 which is produced in
the colon will never be in touch with intrinsic factor, and will never get
in touch with the receptors for intrinsic factors in the ileum.
Clearly residential bacteria and now probiotic supplements play
a role in vitamin production and metabolism. How much of a role
needs to be studied, particularly in vulnerable groups, such as newborn
Eck P, Friel J (2013) Should Probiotics be considered as Vitamin Supplements? Vitam Miner 3: e124. doi:10.4172/vms.1000e124
Page 2 of 2
Volume 3 • Issue 1 • 1000e124
Vitam Miner
ISSN: VMS, an open access journal
infants, premature infants, the elderly and those with chronic or acute
illnesses. e use of vitamin-producing microorganisms may represent
a more natural alternative to fortication using synthesised molecules,
and may permit production of foods with elevated concentrations of
vitamins that are less likely to cause undesirable side-eects.
In conclusion, the possibilities are endless. A whole new
methodology for delivering vitamins to those in need may present
itself in bacteria as a new carrier. Furthermore, once bacteria take up
residence, they keep producing these essential microorganisms, until
they are displaced. A nutrigenetic approach may yield huge benets, if
we can modify bacteria to produce vitamins in quantities that meet our
needs. Instead of vitamin supplements, we can consider seeding the gut
with our new vitamin producing microbes! We even have to change
our denition of “vitamin” and “essential”, if our needs are met by a
healthy microbiome. At the very least those of us in vitamin assessment
must now take into account the potential contributions of probiotics.
References
1. Guarner F, Schaafsma GJ (1998) Probiotics. Int J Food Microbiol 39: 237-238.
2. Floch MH, Walker WA, Guandalini S, Hibberd P, Gorbach S, et al. (2008)
Recommendations for probiotic use. J Clin Gastroenterol 42: S104-S108.
3. Guandalini S (2010) Update on the role of probiotics in the therapy of pediatric
inammatory bowel disease. Expert Rev Clin Immunol 6: 47-54.
4. de Moreno de Leblanc A, Perdigón G (2010) The application of probiotic
fermented milks in cancer and intestinal inammation. Proc Nutr Soc 69: 421-
428.
5. Sang LX, Chang B, Zhang WL, Wu XM, Li XH, et al. (2010) Remission induction
and maintenance effect of probiotics on ulcerative colitis: A meta-analysis.
World J Gastroenterol 21:1908-1915.
6. Moayyedi P, Ford AC, Quigley EM, Foxx-Orenstein AE, Chey WD, et al.
(2010) The American College of Gastroenterology irritable bowel syndrome
monograph: Translating systematic review data to clinical practice.
Gastroenterology 138: 789-791.
7. Luoto R, Isolauri E, Lehtonen L (2010) Safety of Lactobacillus GG probiotic in
infants with very low birth weight: Twelve years of experience. Clin Infect Dis
50: 1327-1328.
8. Ramasamy K, Abdullah N, Wong MC, Karuthan C, Ho YW (2010) Bile salt
deconjugation and cholesterol removal from media by Lactobacillus as
probiotics in chickens. J Sci Food Agric 90: 65-69.
9. Kale-Pradhan PB, Jassal HK, Wilhelm SM (2010) Role of Lactobacillus in the
prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea: A meta-analysis. Pharmacotherapy
30: 119-126.
10. Guarner F, Malagelada JR (2003) Gut ora in health and disease. Lancet 361:
512-519.
11. Jones ML, Martoni CJ, Prakash S (2013) Oral supplementation with probiotic
L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 increases mean circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D: A
post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 98:
2944-2951.
12. Thijssen HH, Vervoort LM, Schurgers LJ, Shearer MJ (2006) Menadione is a
metabolite of oral vitamin K. Br J Nutr 95: 260-266.
13. Strozzi GP, Mogna L (2008) Quantication of folic acid in human feces after
administration of Bidobacterium probiotic strains. J Clin Gastroenterol 42:
S179-S184.
14. Kim TH, Yang J, Darling PB, O’Connor DL (2004) A large pool of available
folate exists in the large intestine of human infants and piglets. J Nutr 134:
1389-1394.
15. Fabian E, Majchrzak D, Dieminger B, Meyer E, Elmadfa I (2008) Inuence of
probiotic and conventional yoghurt on the status of vitamins B1, B2 and B6 in
young healthy women. Ann Nutr Metab 52: 29-36.
16. Taranto MP, Vera JL, Hugenholtz J, De Valdez GF, Sesma F (2003)
Lactobacillus reuteri CRL1098 produces cobalamin. J Bacteriol 185: 5643-
5647.
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Citation: Eck P, Friel J (2013) Should Probiotics be considered as Vitamin
Supplements? Vitam Miner 3: e124. doi:10.4172/vms.1000e124