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Probiotics are defi ned as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefi t on the host, including the gastrointestinal tract. While this benefi cial effect was originally thought to stem from improvements in the intestinal microbial balance, there is now substantial evidence that probiotics can also provide benefi ts by modulating immune functions. In animal models, probiotic supplementation is able to provide protection from spontaneous and chemically induced colitis by downregulating infl ammatory cytokines or inducing regulatory mechanisms in a strain-specifi c manner. In animal models of allergen sensitization and murine models of asthma and allergic rhinitis, orally administered probiotics can straindependently decrease allergen-specifi c IgE production, in part by modulating systemic cytokine production. Certain probiotics have been shown to decrease airway hyperresponsiveness and infl ammation by inducing regulatory mechanisms. Promising results have been obtained with probiotics in the treatment of human infl ammatory diseases of the intestine and in the prevention and treatment of atopic eczema in neonates and infants. However, the fi ndings are too variable to allow fi rm conclusions as to the effectiveness of specifi c probiotics in these conditions.

Dimeric procyanidins can be detected in human plasma as early as 30 min after the consumption of a flavanol-rich food such as cocoa.

Diets rich in flavanols reverse vascular dysfunction in diabetes, highlighting therapeutic potentials in cardiovascular disease.