Is Viability Important?
Probiotic cultures consumed while they are live and active are able to establish themselves in the digestive tract for short periods of time. But they must remain viable and survive passage through the digestive tract if they are to be beneficial. Some types of probiotic bacteria are quickly destroyed by digestive enzymes in the stomach, while others are able to survive and pass through to the intestinal tract in sufficient numbers. The survival rate of these probiotic bacteria is therefore important for regulating certain intestinal functions
(Oozeer R et al., 2003).
Only certain strains of these probiotic bacteria are resistant to the digestive enzymes in the stomach, and are most likely to survive passage to the colon. To date, several probiotics have been shown to survive in man, such as certain
Bifidobacterium
and
L. casei
(Berrada et al., 1991;
Pochart et al., 1992). Research shows that only regular consumption of those probiotics capable of surviving passage to the colon are likely to have a beneficial affect.
Introduction
Is Viability Important?
