Culturelle
Lactobacillus GG
Vegetarian Capsule:
Lactobacillus GG in Culturelle HS, also known as LGG, is a patented friendly bacterial strain that is the most extensively
researched and clinically proven strain of lactobacillus available. Lactobacillus GG takes it name from its discoverers,
Drs. Gorbach & Goldin of Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. They analyzed over a thousand different strains
for ideal "health promoting/probiotic" characteristics. They chose Lactobacillus GG as the ideal probiotic.
Research shows that stomach acid kills many Lactobacillus strains on contact which prevents those strains from reaching
the intestinal tract. Also, many of the other strains that do survive the stomach acid do not adhere to the intestinal lining.
It has been found that lactobacillus that are able to adhere, typically do not grow in the intestinal tract as successfully as LGG.
This means that they cannot form a protective barrier in the intestines.
Culturelle - Lactobacillus GG has been proven to withstand stomach acid better and so form a stronger barrier against bad bacteria than
other Lactobacillus strains. International clinical research of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies involved participants
and researchers of the study who do not know if they are receiving the real or inactive ingredient. The majority of these studies
have been published in leading medical and scientific journals.
Lactobacillus GG in Culturelle has been found to be safe and effective. It sold in over 30 countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America
and used in other products such as yogurt, milk drinks, cheese, juices and capsules.
Culturelle guarantees that there are at
least 10 billion colony-forming units (cfus) per capsule throughout the shelf life when Culturelle is stored as recommended
temperatures which is at or below room temperature.
Lactobacillus GG strain in Culturelle is grown on a whey-based media. In the cheese-making process, casein is the milk
protein that precipitates to form cheese curds. After the Lactobacillus GG is grown on the whey-based media, the bacterial
cells are washed and freeze-dried. To test for the presence of dairy proteins i.e. casein and whey,
Culturelle has been submitted
to FARRP, an internationally known food allergy research program for an enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). The casein
and whey content of Culturelle has been found to be less than 15 ppm each. Some people may be allergic to these levels of protein.
The Difference between Lactobacillus GG and L. acidophilus?
Lactobacillus GG is different to L. acidophilus.
The probiotic bacterial strain in Culturelle is Lactobacillus GG (Lactobacillus
casei, subspecies rhamnosus GG, ATCC strain 53103).
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is a specific strain of the species, Lactobacillus
rhamnosus.
Lactobacillus acidophilus is another species group that is made up of a number of different strains, as is the case for Lactobacillus casei.
It is interesting to note:
- All of the different strains in the Lactobacillus genus have different properties.
- Not all Lactobacillus strains are able to adequately survive the stomach acid or to attach and colonize in the gut.
- Different probiotic strains offer different health benefits.
- It is important to examine the clinical studies that have been done to
support each of the different products.
Culturelle - Lactobacillus GG Research and More
Read other information on Probiotics