Navigation
Back To Articles

Probiotics, a term applied to beneficial bacteria, is one of the hottest and most often misunderstood topics among Veterinarians, Feed Companies, Poultry, Livestock and Bird Breeders today. In recent years many Lactobacillus/Streptococcus type products have been introduced to the market-place, and many more will arise in the near future. Many of these products will come and go, and some manufacturers will continue to market what their limited knowledge and culturing ability allow them. In most cases, all Probiotics should produce some benefit: however, the consistency of results will vary greatly from product to product.

PROBIOTICS DO NOT FUNCTION LIKE ANTIBIOTICS
They do not work quickly, they bring about results over an extended period of time. Probiotics are not overnight miracle products, nor a 30-day cure-all. One should consider which of these products are really "worth the money". Today a great deal of confusion exists as to the thinking that all Probiotic products are alike. The only common criteria is that each has incorporated some type of Lactobacillus/Streptococcus bacteria into their product.

Consider this:

• The World Federation of Culture Collections, lists 72 different Culture Banks in the World.
• Eighteen (18) are in the U.S.A. The Culture Bank we use, has listed:
• 16 different Lactobacillus acidophilus sub-species.
• 30 different Lactobacillus casei sub-species.
• 25 different Streptococcus faecium sub-species.

From a potential of 72 Culture Banks, World Wide, and if each has 71 different sub-species available, a Manufacturer will have a choice from 5112 sub-species selections, in addition to this, many manufacturers choose to isolate culture from nature and use them in their product. A Probiotic that produces sporadic inconsistent results is usually due to the manufacturer's limited knowledge of highly specialized culturing technology, necessary to produce a superior, highly viable, and stable Probiotic. Also the ability and experience required to adapt such a Probiotic to various feeding/health programs, producing consistent results is limited. A quick review of different products will clearly show that all Lactobacillus/Streptococcus products are not all alike. The major Probiotic products available today can be categorized into about four types. Three of these types can only produce inconsistent and sporadic benefits.

They include:
1. Non-Viable Probiotics ......... These are DEAD.
2. Freeze-dried Probiotics........ These will die rapidly if not stored in a very cool location.
3. Fermentation Products........ These are produced through fermentation. (UGF)
   These types of products are either dead; cannot be counted; contain the wrong sub-species of Lactobacillus/Streptococcus; have low bacteria count; have 100 days or less shelf life out of refrigeration.

   The above products should not be confused with the fourth type of Probiotic.
   

4. Viable primary Lactobacillus/Enterococcus cultures. This type of Probiotic is live, should have guaranteed shelf life, should guarantee number of organisms, should have protocol for counting, should be very stable and efficacious.

Copyright©2008
National Bird Designs, Inc.^TM
All rights reserved.