Probiotics In Pharmaceuticals: Friendly Bacteria

By Kevin Ward

Probiotic bacteria have long been used in probiotic yogurt drinks or provided in tablet form. People have often taken these ‘friendly’ bacteria to help boost their own systems internal flora and fauna; friendly bacteria can help protect our immune system and aid digestion. Bacteria have been known to survive a variety of conditions; however storage in yogurt drinks or tablet form is often not enough.

The bacteria need to survive in large enough numbers to give the end customer a product that has enough active bacteria that they are able to do good. One way in which manufacturers approach this is to supply a much higher load of bacteria at source when the product is made, knowing that a large number of the bacteria will die during storage. However the survival of bacterial at the point of consumption is often not known and there may be little left to give any health benefits.