In recent years, the intestinal microbiota has been found to greatly influence a number of biological processes important for human health and longevity. Microbial composition changes easily in response to external factors, such as an unbalanced diet, lack of physical activity, and smoking. Probiotics are a key factor in maintaining the optimal composition of the intestinal microbiota. However, a number of important questions related to probiotics, such as indication for prescription, comparative efficacy of monostrain and multistrain probiotics, methods of delivery, and shelf life, remain unresolved. The aim of this review is to highlight existing issues regarding probiotic production and their prescription. The review presents the most recent findings regarding advantages and efficacy of monostrain and multistrain probiotics, preservation of probiotic strains in capsules and microcapsules, production of probiotics in the form of biofilms for improved efficacy and survival, and results of clinical studies evaluating the benefits of probiotics against different pathologies. We believe that this work will be of interest to physicians and researchers alike and will promote the development of new probiotics and ensuing regimens aimed at the treatment of various diseases. Probiotics may contain a variety of microorganisms. The most common are bacteria that belong to groups called Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Other bacteria may also be used as probiotics, and so may yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii. Different types of probiotics may have different effects. For example, if a specific kind of Lactobacillus helps prevent an illness, that doesn’t necessarily mean that another kind of Lactobacillus or any of the Bifidobacterium probiotics would do the same thing.
