Community awareness of probiotics importance in Adults, Misurata- Libya

Abstract EN

Background: The word “Probiotics” is derived from a Greek word in which “Pro” means favor and “Bios” means life.

Probiotics are nonpathogenic microorganism and are beneficial for its host as they improve microbial load in gastrointestinal tract[1].

it present in the gastrointestinal tracts and person obtains it through a healthy diet that includes fermented foods, dairy products, and foods containing an adequate amount of fiber.

These study aimed to investigate the level of nutritional Community awareness of probiotics among non - random sample of adults(N=576 participants) in Misurata city (Libya), was classified on age in to three groups(19-29y, 30-39y, and Over50y) .

The statistical methods used were the use of descriptive methods, which is the arithmetic mean for each age group, which represents the percentage of the answer with yes, as well as the use of ONE WAY ANOVA analysis, level of precision (D=0.05), and it was used to compare between different age groups, and the graphical columns were used.

SPSS was used to analyze data.

results show that there are no significant differences between age groups with the knowledge of beneficial bacterial types (probiotics) despite their conviction of the benefits of these foods for human health, and that the age group from 29- 39 years is the most keen to read the nutritional facts on the products.

The questionnaire on consumer preferences showed a trend towards healthy foods, especially those containing vital enhancers, and consumer confidence in local products over imported, As for consumers' tendency to use live enhancers in the form of tablets that can be purchased from pharmacies(Biotherapy drugs), consumers have not shown any interest in this option.