The extra-intestinal anti-inflammatory effects produced by oral or systemic (subcutaneous) administrations of probiotics have been demonstrated in various inflammatory, autoimmune and atopic diseases including arthritis, dermatitis and allergies (Kato et al., 1998; Baharav et al., 2004; Miraglia del Giudice and De Luca, 2004; Noverr and Huffnagle, 2004; Sheil et al., 2004).Most microbes harbour pa