Role of biotic supplements in controlling infectious diarrhea: Insights from animal and human studies

In 2021, diarrheal diseases resulted in an estimated 1.17 million deaths globally. Consumption of unsafe water is considered the major driver in causing infectious diarrhea worldwide and is an important source of traveller diarrhea. Antibiotic resistance in enteric infections that cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea is another threat that has emerged as a result of the extensive use of antibiotic medications. Therefore, novel therapies are desperately needed to fight enteric infections and repair the gut barrier. Biotics such as probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, paraprobiotics, and synbiotics have emerged as a promising approach for the management and treatment of diarrheal diseases. The current review focuses on the study of the efficacy of biotics as well as underlying mechanisms for various biotics towards enteric pathogens based on animal and human studies, and also emphasizing on the different challenges associated with each biotic.