Antibiotics and probiotics in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Table 1 Suggested mechanisms of action of antibiotics and probiotics

Antibiotics	Probiotics
Eradication of bacterial antigenic triggers	Inhibition of pathogenic enteric bacteria by:
Elimination of bacterial overgrowth	decreasing luminal pH
Reduction of pro-inflammatory bacterial toxins	secretion of bacteriocidal proteins
Potential immunosuppressive properties of antibiotics	resisting colonization
	blocking epithelial binding
	Improvement in epithelial and mucosal barrier function by:
	production of short-chain fatty acids
	enhancing mucus production
	increasing barrier integrity
	Alteration of immunoregulation by:
	increasing interleukin-10 and TGFβ, and decreasing TNF levels
	increasing IgA production