The value of prebiotics for our health not only for the good function of the bowel but also for the prevention of chronic diseases was once more pointed out during the speech of the professor of Pathology in the 4th Pathology clinic of the medical school of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Evaggelos Giamarellos-Mpourmpoulis,  in the context of the 8th Pancypriot Pharmaceutical Congress.

The congress was held at the weekend of 17 and 18 November in Nicosia and Pharmabelle , the commercial company of the Tsetis Pharmaceutical Business Group, declared their presence strongly , at the same time supporting the Professor’s speech.

As stated by Pr  Giamaraellos among others in his speech, “the word “prebiotics” is an accurate translation in Greek of the anglosaxon word probiotic and it comes from the prefix “pro” which means “for” and the word “viosi” which means “life”. Therefore, prebiotics are still bacteria or fungi that if consumed in sufficient quantities help in the better quality of living or protect life. The prebiotic bacteria use lactic acid as their nutritional content and for this reason they are known as lactobacilli. Their significance has been proven by a revolution in our knowledge for the understanding of chronic diseases. The last 10 years we have learned that in our bowel reside almost 1 billion different microorganisms per bowel grammar with which we live in harmony .”

And the professor went on, “the success of therapy with prebiotics, is based on an essential  condition; the pharmaceutical formulation that will be administered should resemble as much as possible the “ecosystem” of the bowel. For this reason, pharmaceutics that contain more than one prebiotics should be prescribed, exactly like the “microvioma” (good bowel bacteria) consists of more than one microorganisms. Also, the pharmaceutics administered should contain the quantity of billion prebiotics exactly like the “microvioma”(good bowel bacteria) consists of billion microorganisms. Attention should be paid on behalf of the patients to the fact that prebiotics contained in food like yoghurts correspond in only a few thousand prebiotics hence they are not suitable for therapeutic use. 

In Greece among the available prebiotic pharmaceutics the only for which there are clinical laboratory studies is  Lactoleuvre®, by Uni-pharma company, that contains per cap 1.5 billion germs of the type Saccharomyces boulardii, 1.75 billion germs of the type Bifidobacterium lactis, 1.5 billion germs of the type  Lactobacillus acidophilus and half billion germs of the type Lactobacillus plantarum.

The clinical effectiveness of this pharmaceutics has been proven in two big studies on Greek patients that have been carried out by our research group in the University General Hospital ATTIKON. Recently the second study was completed, throughout which the pharmaceutics Lactoleuvre was given to people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome every day for a whole month. Τhe patients were evaluated one month after the cease of the treatment. It was found out that symptoms of constipation and abdominal pain had been seriously reduced while at least 50% of the patients reported amelioration of the quality of their life.

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