"Brands" of Helpful Bacteria

By Katherine Leitzell

Posted 7/27/07

Has the "probiotic" bacteria in a particular brand of yogurt or supplement been subjected to scientific studies? Listed below are species that have been tested; an "x" indicates that a species seems to counter the specified health problem. Various strains of the species listed here may have been studied to varying degrees. Species that do not appear in this table may or may not have been tested.

Probiotic Species	Irritable Bowel Syndrome	Intestinal Viral Diarrhea	Other Diarrhea*	Urogenital	Respiratory	Allergy
Bifidobacterium
*B. animalis*
*B. breve*			x
*B. infantis*	x
*B. lactis*		x
*B. longum*						x
Lactobacillus
*L. acidophilus*	x	x				x
*L. casei*		x	x
*L. fermentum*				x
*L. paracasei*			x
*L. plantarum*	x		x		x
*L. reuteri*		x				x
*L. rhamnosus*	x	x	x	x
*L. salivarius*						x
Saccharomyces
*S. boulardii*	x	x	x

* "Other Diarrhea" includes antibiotic-associated diarrhea, traveler's diarrhea, and diarrhea caused by the microbe Clostridium difficile.

Health

"Brands" of Helpful Bacteria