Probiotics - Lactic Acid Yeast

Lactic acid bacteria are among the most important groups of microorganisms used in food fermentations. They contribute to the taste and texture of fermented products and inhibit food spoilage bacteria by producing growth-inhibiting substances and large amounts of lactic acid. As agents of fermentation LAB are involved in making yogurt, cheese, cultured butter, sour cream, sausage, cucumber pickles, olives and sauerkraut, but some species may spoil beer, wine and processed meats.

Fermentation of Foods by Lactic Acid Bacteria
Many human foods are plants or animal products which have been fermented by lactic acid bacteria, since these bacteria possess properties that can benefit food production or conversion. The acidic and organoleptic properties of fermented foods result from the metabolic activities of these microorganisms. Foods such as ripened cheeses, fermented sausages, sauerkraut and pickles have not only a greatly extended shelf life compared to the raw materials from which they are derived, but also aroma and flavor characteristics contributed directly or indirectly by the fermenting organisms.

Because they obtain energy only from the metabolism of sugars, lactic acid bacteria are restricted to environments in which sugars are present. They have limited biosynthetic ability, having evolved in environments that are rich in amino acids, vitamins, purines and pyrimidines, so they must be cultivated in complex media that fulfill all their nutritional requirements. Most are free-living or live in beneficial or harmless associations with animals, although some are opportunistic pathogens. They are found in milk and milk products and in decaying plant materials. They are normal flora of humans in the oral cavity, the intestinal tract and the vagina, where they play a beneficial role.

Recent research suggests that reestablishing the balance between the number and proportion of different bacterial species present in the gastrointestinal tract can normalize the permeability, motility, metabolism, immune response and other functions of the gut. One natural way to achieve this goal is by ingesting adequate number of selected species of lactic acid bacteria (i.e. Lactobacilli, Streptococcus) and Bifidobacteria.


Lactic Acid Yeast from Standard Process
Purpose: Convert Carbohydrates in food to lactic acid, thereby acidifying the GI tract and inhibiting pathogenic bacterial growth. (Lactobacillus acidophilus, the analogous bacterium, only converts milk sugar to lactic acid.) Promotes intestinal absorption of Ca.


From the Clinical Reference Guide: Intestinal flora support, acidification of GI tract, converts all carbohydrate to lactic acid, protein and mineral (especially Ca, Zn, Fe) assimilation.

USE: Disruption of intestinal flora, antibiotic therapy adjunct, flatulence (2 hrs after meals), halitosis, toxemia, malassimilation disorder, constipation.

Question: What actually is yogurt?

John Courtney: Yogurt is a bacillus that is naturally found in sour milk—one of many. To make yogurt you would sterilize milk then seed it with a culture of whatever bacillus you choose. Different strains of bacillus produce different flavors. Yogurt is good for you but sour milk is even better because it hasn't been cooked. Tests have been conducted showing the effects of pasteurization. The bacteria count in pasteurized milk is way down real low compared to raw milk. But if you keep both under ideal conditions and test again after 12 to 48 hours the bacteria count in the pasteurized milk will be much higher than in the raw milk. Why? Because the protective factors normally found in milk are destroyed by cooking allowing the bacteria to increase. So pasteurized milk is a very inferior product— it often causes constipation along with other problems. Most of the nutrients which were present in the milk to begin with are destroyed or rendered unacceptable to the human body by the pasteurization process. So much for that. The lactic acid yeast organism that we use in our Lactic Acid Yeast wafers does the same thing that lactic acid bacillus does with one difference. Lactic acid bacillus only changes milk sugar to lactic acid whereas lactic acid yeast organism changes any carbohydrate to lactic acid. I don't think anyone else uses the lactic acid yeast organism; other companies use lactic acid bacillus. We also put a few additional food factors into Lactic Acid Yeast to make sure that it builds the patient up.

Reasearch Studies Supporting the Efficacy of Lactic Acid Yeast (Probiotics)

Gionchetti P. et al. Oral bacteriotherapy as maintenance treatment in patients with chronic pouchitis. Gastroenterology 2000; 119(2):305-309.

Gionchetti P. et al. Prophylaxis of pouchitis onset with probiotic therapy. Gastroeterology 2003; 124(5):1202-1209

Venturi A. et al. Impact on the composition of the fecal flora by a new probiotic preparation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 1999; 13(8):1103-1108

Campieri M. et al. Combination of antibiotic and probiotic treatment is efficacious in prophylaxis of post-operative recurrence of Crohn's disease. Gastroenterology 2000; 118:A4179

Delia P. et al. Prevention of radiation-induced diarrhea with the use of VSL#3, a new high-potency probiotic preparation. Am. J. Gastroenterology 2002; 97(8):13-15.

Kim HJ. et al. A randomized controlled trial of a probiotic, VSL#3, on gut transit and symptoms in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2003; 17:895-904

Bazzocchi G. et al. Changes in symptoms, distension-stimulated colonic motility and in fecal microbiological features after oral bacteriotherapy in patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS (D-IBS) or with functional diarrhea (FD). Am. J. Gastroenterology 2002; 97(9):A847

Mimura T. el al. Once daily high dose probiotic therapy maintains remission and improved quality of life in patients with recurrent or refractory pouchitis. Gastroenterology 2002; 122:A81

Brigidi P. et al. Effects of probiotic administration upon the composition and enzymatic activity of human fecal microbiota in patients with irritable bowel syndrome or functional diarrhea. Res. Microbiol. 2001; 152:735-41.

Balfour RB. Editorial: Probiotics in Chronic Pouchitis: Restoring Luminal Microbial Balance. Gastroenterology 2000: 119(2):584-585.

Katz JA. Editorial: Prevention is the Best Defence: Probiotic Prophylaxis of Pouchitis. Gastroenterology 2003; 124(5):1535-1537.