02.23.10
Nebraska Cultures Inc., Walnut Creek, CA, is sponsoring a study that will evaluate the efficacy of Dr. Shahani’s DDS-1 strain of L. acidophilus in humans. The study, titled “Survival and persistence of Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 and other lactobacilli in human subjects,” specifically seeks to determine whether healthy bacteria can survive an extended time in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Because of the low pH, the presence of bile salts and the competitive environment of the human intestinal tract, questions have arisen regarding the survivability (and therefore efficacy) of probiotics as a category. For accuracy and relevance to Dr. Shahani's original strain of probiotic, the study will employ human trial subjects who ingest controlled amounts of specified bacteria strains, and who are then tested after an extended period of time to see what, if any, of the bacteria can still be detected.
The study will be conducted by the University of Nebraska, Department of Food Science and Technology, under the guidance of noted probiotic scientist Robert Hutkins, as well as Jens Walter and Steven Frese. The study will assess the ability of a commercially available, widely studied probiotic strain, Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1, and two other lactobacilli to survive through the stomach and persist in the human gastrointestinal tract.
