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PProbiotics: discoveries

Probiotics — Live microbes in food or capsules — strain-specific guests, not a whole microbiome and not medical advice.

At a glance
Timeline

Milestones in order. This is history, not a weekly activity grid.

1907 Metchnikoff's sour milk19071965 Word 'probiotic' in print19651985 LGG isolated19852001 FAO/WHO definition20012002 Guidelines follow20022014 ISAPP consensus20142018 Evidence maps thicken20182020s Live biotherapeutic drugs2020s
  1. Metchnikoff's sour milk
  2. Word 'probiotic' in print
  3. LGG isolated
  4. FAO/WHO definition
  5. Guidelines follow
  6. ISAPP consensus
  7. Evidence maps thicken
  8. Live biotherapeutic drugs
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology

Quick answers

Where should I start with Probiotics?

Read Identity → How they live → Body & health, then use compare rails.

Is this page advice for Probiotics?

Public-health education — not a care plan, prescription, or outbreak briefing.

What does the local lens add?

It names everyday desks for Beneficial allies before English norms look universal.

Are the scores a ranking of Probiotics?

No — editorial 0–100 browsing aids inside this atlas only.

How do I compare Probiotics to neighbours?

Use related cards and best-of / quiz rails after the first three chapters.

Which chapter is densest?

How they live and Body & health carry mechanisms; skim Identity first.

Start with this section - History

Sour milk as medicine is ancient. The modern word probiotic was reshaped in the late twentieth century to mean live microbes with a benefit claim.

Regulators then asked for strain IDs and trials. Marketing did not always follow.

Timeline

1907Metchnikoff's sour milk

A Nobel laureate links lactic microbes to longevity ideas in Paris.

1965Word 'probiotic' in print

Lilly and Stillwell use probiotic for substances that favour microbes — a meaning later narrowed.

1985LGG isolated

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG becomes a much-studied strain with a public code.

2001FAO/WHO definition

Live microorganisms, adequate amounts, health benefit — the sentence labels still quote.

2002Guidelines follow

Working-group guidelines push strain identification and safety dossiers.

2014ISAPP consensus

The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics restates the 2001 core.

2018Evidence maps thicken

Cochrane-style reviews show benefit in some diarrhoea settings and uncertainty in many others.

2020sLive biotherapeutic drugs

Defined consortia enter drug-style pipelines, separate from yoghurt aisle branding.

History is also yoghurt vats, kimchi jars and pharmacy shelves.

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