Durability is the Greatest Challenge of Probiotics - New Study Proves Nebraska Cultures' ProDURA Is Superior in Heat Resistance

WALNUT CREEK, CA, March 07, 2013 (Press-News.org) Nebraska Cultures Inc., the creator and exclusive supplier of Dr. Shahani's L. acidophilus, announced today that its resilient probiotic strain ProDURA (Bacillus coagulans) survived twice as long in a heat resistance test as other top commercially available strains, according to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Thermal Resistance Study. The fact that the ProDURA strain took significantly longer to die than the competition reaffirmed the strain's viability and immense potential for the use of ProDURA in food processing applications where thermal stability is needed.

The UNL Thermal Resistance Study was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Jayne Stratton, Research Professor and Microbiology Lab Manager at the University of Nebraska's Food Processing Center, in February of 2013. The experiments in the study included testing the heat resistance of three commercial probiotic strains of Bacillus coagulans - ProDURA and two other strains already well established in the marketplace. The findings show that the time necessary to decrease the population of viable ProDURA bacteria by 90 percent is approximately twice as long as the other two strains tested at temperatures up to 105°C.
Stratton tested a range of temperatures and found that ProDURA consistently outperformed other strains at every temperature; particularly at boiling point and beyond. "The data collected in these experiments indicate that the ProDURA Bacillus coagulans could be the strain of choice in food processing applications where thermal stability in a probiotic organism is desirable," said Dr. Stratton. More studies are planned.

About ProDURA :
Available exclusively from Nebraska Cultures, ProDURA is an unusual probiotic strain, serving as a spore forming bacterium with a naturally protective coating that stays dormant until it meets the perfect conditions of heat, pH, and moisture found in the large intestine.

Features of ProDURA include:
• Inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli.
• Produces the enzyme lactase, which is known to reduce the incidence of lactose intolerance.
• Promotes weight gain and reduces the incidence of infections in piglets.
• In human clinical studies, ProDURA has been shown to lower total cholesterol and LDL levels, raise HDL levels in the blood, and reduce the incidence of diarrhea and bacterial vaginosis (BV).

"ProDURA's remarkable stability and resistance to heat makes it the ideal probiotic for processed foods, softgels, and gummy applications," said Michael Shahani, chief operations officer for Nebraska Cultures. "Unlike weaker probiotic strains, ProDURA can survive unusually harsh processing, shipping and storage - while retaining its potency, delivering a more effective probiotic to users."

For a copy of the entire study and/or a technical synopsis of its findings, please contact Betsy Roberts at betsyr@lfpr.com.

Sales/Purchase Information:
ProDURA is available exclusively from Nebraska Cultures, Inc. For more information, including scientific studies, please call (925) 935-0922 or visit http://www.nebraskacultures.com/htmls/contact.php.

About Nebraska Cultures:
Since 1981, Nebraska Cultures has supplied the natural products industry with the finest probiotic cultures - the Dr. Shahani's brand - specializing in the DDS-1 strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Nebraska Cultures remains at the forefront of the probiotic industry by performing new research, increasing consumer awareness, growing its business overseas and expanding into functional foods.

As one of the most influential probiotics scientists to date, Dr. Khem Shahani began his landmark research on Lactobacillus acidophilus at the University of Nebraska in the late 1950s. There he discovered a particular strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus that showed superior growth, stability and nutritional viability. Dr. Shahani would later name the strain DDS-1 for the Department of Dairy Science Number One strain and spend the rest of his career unlocking its potentials for improving overall health.

For more information about the DDS-1 strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus or Nebraska Cultures, please visit: http://www.nebraskacultures.com or call toll free 1-877-377-4242.