▪ I. probiotic
see pro-2 1.
▪ II. probiotic, a.1 and n. Biol. and Med.
Brit. /ˌprəʊbʌɪˈɒtɪk/, U.S. /ˌproʊbaɪˈɑdɪk/
[‹ pro- prefix1 + -biotic (in antibiotic adj.), after French probiotique (R. Duliscouët 1935, in Comptes rendus Soc. de Biol. 118 1277); compare -biotic comb. form.]
A. adj. 1. Promoting the growth of organisms, esp. microorganisms.
| 1953E. S. Cook in Brewing Chemists' News Let. Sept. 4/3 Substances found in a number of tissues do not inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus but actually stimulate it, hence the term ‘probiotic’. 1965 Science 12 Feb. 747/3 The probiotic effect was lost when the conditioned medium was subjected to prolonged autoclaving. 1978 Amer. Midland Naturalist 99 442 It is also possible..that antibiotic and/or probiotic chemical interactions influence interspecific competition. 1989 Science 25 Aug. 851/2 It is possible that the growth stimulation elicited by PQQ [= pyrroloquinoline quinone] is the result of its potential probiotic effects. |
2. Of, relating to, or containing probiotics (sense B. 2).
| 1988 Veterinary Rec. 10 Dec. 632 Probiotic use. 1989W. L. Porter in B. A. Stark & J. M. Wilkinson Probiotics iv. 39 Trials with pigs, using probiotic culture material, have given excellent results in terms of weight gain. 1989 Woman's Jrnl. July 148/3 Protexin B, a probiotic powder, has been used in research on thousands of candida sufferers with a 75 per cent success rate. 2000 Daily Tel. 16 Feb. 21/2 Probiotic supplements containing bowel-friendly species of bacteria—especially enteric-coated Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria species..—can help to overcome disease-causing gut infections. |
B. n. 1. A substance that promotes the growth of organisms; esp. a metabolite produced by one microorganism that promotes the growth of other microorganisms.
| 1959 Ecology 40 526/2 Other areas..are described in brief paragraphs or are omitted entirely (e.g., the important studies..of the occurrence of algal antibiotics and probiotics..). 1965 Science 12 Feb. 747/2 It was also found possible to grow Colpidium in a chemically defined medium so that the unknown products, which we designate ‘probiotics’, could be readily separated from the known components of the culture medium. 1978 Infection & Immunity 22 889/1 He proposed the term ‘probiotics’ for those staphylococcal products that enhanced the growth of diphtheria bacilli. |
2. A microorganism, or (in early use) a substance, used to restore or modify the composition of the microflora of a compartment of the body (esp. the intestines or rumen); a preparation of such microorganisms.
| 1974R. B. Parker in Animal Nutrition & Health Dec. 5/1 We refer to organisms and substances which contribute to intestinal microbial balances as ‘probiotics’. 1983 Progress in Food & Nutrition Sci. 7 5 The use of probiotics as a means of preventing enteric disease or for improving digestion was first suggested by Elie Metchnikoff. 1986 Times 14 June 5/7 The use of bacteria known as probiotics to reduce the effects of stress and promote growth in farm animals is attracting increasing interest in Britain. 1993 Western Horseman Mar. 116/2, I received the supplements from Jim, containing..a balanced vitamin supplement;..a probiotic that assists in digestion efficiency; and..a mineral supplement. 1999 Brit. Med. Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 10 Apr. Of 180 patients in a double blind controlled study, 9.5% of those receiving the probiotic had diarrhoea compared with 22% of the controls given placebo. |