One of the main challenges when developing an effective probiotic is ensuring that the bacteria that they contain are able to make it to your intestines alive. Your intestines contain live bacteria that are necessary for digestion and as such, the bacteria in probiotics must be alive when they reach your gut in order to be beneficial. From the manufacturing process to your immune system, there are many barriers that bacteria in probiotics must survive in order to make the journey to your intestines. In this article, you will learn about different barriers to producing an effective probiotic along with how our patented, plant-based probiotics overcome those barriers.
Air Exposure
Oxygen is known to be highly toxic to the bacteria in your gut with a 100% death rate within 2 hours of exposure (Brusa, et al., 1989). This becomes a significant issue during the manufacturing process and storage of probiotics as they are exposed to air.
But how can we address this issue?
Our patented bacteria Pediococcus acidlactici (PA5051®) is found naturally on the surface of plants. This means that in its natural habitat, PA5051® is exposed to air. As a result, PA5051® can survive oxygen exposure, allowing for consistent levels of bacterial survival during the manufacturing process and storage of our probiotics.
What does this mean for you? NutriLots™ Probiotics are shelf-stable for up to 2 years!
Temperature
Many bacteria are not stable at higher temperatures, resulting in a requirement for probiotics to be refrigerated in order to maintain consistent survival rates. But not NutriLots™ Probiotics! Since the natural habitat of PA5051® is on plants, they are able to survive at temperatures up to 45°C. This is significantly higher than room temperature (~20°C) meaning that no refrigeration is required for our probiotics!
Additionally, having a higher temperature tolerance contributes to PA5051®’s ability to be shelf-stable for up to 2 years.
Stomach Acid
Over time, the human body has evolved to produce stomach acid. The primary function of stomach acid is to kill any pathogens that you ingest. Stomach acid is incredibly acidic, with an average pH of 2- which is deadly to the vast majority of bacteria. This presents an issue in the field of probiotics as the bacteria in probiotics need to survive the stomach in order to make it to the intestines alive.
PA5051® is specifically selected to be able to survive to a pH as low as 1.5; lower than the average human stomach. This means that the survival rates of NutriLots™ Probiotics remains consistent throughout digestion, maximizing health benefits.
Antibiotic Tolerance
Probiotics are often recommended for those who are undergoing antibiotic treatment. This is because antibiotics do not distiguish between good, healthy bacteria and bad, illness-inducing bacteria. As a result, antibiotics can disrupt the diversity of your gut bacteria, causing digestive issues such as stomach pain and diarrhea. In order to combat these side effects, doctors will often recommend to take probiotics. However, due to the non-selective nature of antibiotics, many probiotics cannot be taken at the same time as antibiotics because antibiotics render them ineffective.
PA5051® is tolerant to many antibiotics, which allows for it to be taken during antibiotic treatments. We must emphasize that PA5051® is tolerant to antibiotics, not resistant. Tolerance to antibiotics means that there is a lessened response to antibiotics whereas resistance would suggest that antibiotics are completely ineffective against bacteria. This is an imperative factor to distinguish as customer safety is our #1 priority. This tolerance to antibiotics allows NutriLots™ to be taken at the same time as antibiotic resistance, reducing your risk of developing digestive issues.
Summary
PA5051® survives oxygen exposure, high temperature, stomach acid, and tolerates antibiotics.
Tolerance to oxygen exposure and high temperature ensures consistency in the amount of live bacteria in each supplement. PA5051®’s ability to survive highly acidic environments allows for the bacteria to survive the stomach, ensuring that they reach the intestines alive. Finally, PA5051® tolerates exposure to antibiotics, allowing for you to take our NutriLots™ probiotics during antibiotic treatment, preventing antibiotic-related digestive issues.
References
Brusa, T., Canzi, E., Pacini, N. et al. Oxygen tolerance of anaerobic bacteria isolated from human feces. Current Microbiology 19, 39–43 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01568901
