 A body of evidence from clinical and experimental observations indicates a role for endogenous digestive microflora in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease IBD. The distal ileum and the colon are the areas with highest luminal bacterial concentrations and represent the sites of inflammation in IBD. Probiotics have been shown to reduce intestinal inflammation in animal studies. In the human, probiotics may also reduce inflammation particularly in Crohns disease CD and ulcerative colitis UC. Probiotics are effective in the treatment of acute pouchitis and its prevention. Their use also appears to have some effect in the management of active intestinal inflammation in UC and preliminary results suggest a role in the maintenance of remission. 