The invention concerns microbiology and medicine and may be used for the prophylaxis and treatment of the syndrome of an irritated large intestine in either a human or an animal. The insertion of the samples of the strains of the autochthonous bank into the intestine of a human permits the repair of the broken bacteriocenosis of the intestine due to the use of the entire spectrum of the healthy (normal) microflora of the intestine. The method is as follows: feces samples of a single human are taken during healthy periods beginning 7-15 days after birth and continuing through the course of a lifetime no more than once a year. The autochthonous strains of the normal intestinal microflora are selected from the feces and identified; a culture of each kind of bacteria is separately made on a selective culture medium to a minimum titer of 10.sup.3 -10.sup.9 cells/ml; the biomasses of the strains are mixed and stabilized using the special stabilizer; the mixture is divided into separate samples which are conserved and stored during the entire lifetime of the human with periodic testing of the biotiter. During the storage period, a part of the bacterial samples from various periods of life are mixed in equal proportions after biotiter control-this increases the biological activity of the preparation and the acclimatization of bacteria in the human intestine. The use of the entire spectrum of the normal (healthy) autochthonous microflora of the intestine permits repair of the broken bacteriocenosis of the intestine in the process of treatment of the syndrome of irritated large intestine or to prevent the possible breach of bacteriocenosis during the treatment of the disease.

Disclosed is the use of bacteria endowed with arginine deiminase to induce apoptosis and/or reduce an inflammatory reaction, and pharmaceutical or dietetic compositions containing such bacteria. Also included is a strain of Lactobacillus brevis highly endowed with arginine deiminase.

Disclosed is the use of bacteria endowed with arginine deiminase to induce apoptosis and/or reduce an inflammatory reaction, and pharmaceutical or dietetic compositions containing such bacteria. Also disclosed is a strain of Lactobacillus brevis highly endowed with arginine deiminase.

Pharmaceutical compositions of probiotic E. coli strains and uses thereof for treating inflammatory bowel disease.

A composition in unit dosage form for the inhibition, prevention or treatment of inflammatory bowel disease comprising an effective amount of a compound having the formula: ##STR1## and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier therefor. Also disclosed is a method for the inhibition, prevention or treatment of inflammatory bowel disease comprising administering to a human or non-human mammal in need thereof an effective amount of a compound having the formula: ##STR2##