BioDoph-7 Plus (BR) - Probiotic Supplement Also For Man

Anyone who is health aware will have heard of ‘probiotics’ and may have some idea that the ingestion of good bacteria benefits our gut and overall health. However, there are literally thousands of supplements containing probiotics, how do you know which one to take, let alone distinguish between the purported functions of the different strains? Some may be left to ask why we don’t just eat yogurt every day instead? You may not be surprised to discover that there’s much more to choosing a good probiotic product.

Here is a brief history of probiotics that helps to set the scene. It was in 1890 that an Austrian doctor, Ernst Moro, discovered lactobacillus acidophilus. In 1899 bifidobacteria were discovered by a French paediatrician, Henry Tissier. In 1907 Elie (or Ilya) Metchnikoff, a Ukrainian zoologist best known for his pioneering research in immunology, spent time with locals in the Caucasus Mountains who drank a yogurt containing lactobacillus Bulgaricus. 

With Paul Ehlich, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908 "in recognition of their work on immunity”. In 1923, Henry Boulard discovered the probiotic yeast saccharomyces boulardii in Southeast Asia, for whom I owe a debt of gratitude having used this yeast in clinical practice for 25 years. 

Minoru Shirota discovered a strain of L. Casei bacteria in 1930 which he named Lactobacillus Casei Shirota and five years later, he produced a yogurt called Yakult which contained this specific strain, and is recognised as the first commercially available probiotic drink/food. 

In 1965 the term ‘probiotic’ was coined by scientists D.M. Lilly and R.H. Stilwell. In 2002, probiotics were officially recognised by the United Nations and World Health Organisation whose definition holds today. Probiotics are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”. They can be found in yogurt and other fermented foods, dietary supplements, and beauty products.

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The word ‘probiotic’ originates from the Latin, meaning “for life”, though there are also roots in Greek, from bios meaning "lively" or "fit for life". While all yogurts have live and active cultures, not all have probiotic strains that provide specific health benefits such as supporting gut health and contributing to the maintenance of a balanced gut microbiota. Even when yogurt does contain probiotic strains the doses are very modest.

There has been misuse of the term probiotic, with many products exploiting the term without meeting the requisite criteria, which are as follows: 

Probiotic strains must be: 

1. sufficiently characterised 
2. safe for the intended use 
3. supported by at least one positive human clinical trial conducted according to generally accepted scientific standards, and 
4. alive in sufficient numbers in the product at an efficacious dose throughout shelf life. 

In addition to these criteria, there are at least six additional characteristics that are needed for strains to even be considered for probiotic use. These are: 

1. resistance to gastric acidity 
2. bile acid resistance
3. adherence to mucus and/or human epithelial cells and cell lines
4. antimicrobial activity against potentially pathogenic bacteria or fungi 
5. ability to reduce pathogen adhesion to surfaces 
6. bile salt hydrolase activity.

All of the probiotic supplements I have used in clinical practice over the past 25 years have abided by these criteria and possess these characteristics. Whilst there are now an almost overwhelming number of probiotic supplements on the market, the many years of clinical evidence with the use of a select few has proven immeasurably helpful to my clients’ health outcomes. 

I could choose a number to discuss, but the one that I am highlighting here is called BioDoph-7 Plus (Biotics Research) which supplies 3 prebiotics, 3 bifido strains, 3 lactobacillus strains along with a gram-positive health-promoting bacterium. The dose per capsule is a clinically useful 20 billion viable microorganisms.  

Whether it is to reduce intestinal or colonic inflammation, or to modulate immunity, or to help produce short chain fatty acids, or to improve barrier function, or to support the production of neurotransmitters, or help produce enzymes, BioDoph-7 Plus provides the probiotic strains to help achieve these benefits. 

Sources:

Hill, C., Guarner, F., Reid, G. et al. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 11, 506–514 (2014). 

History of Probiotics – accessed 9.11.22