Probiotic microbiological quality: evaluation of time viability and quality of commercial products

Abstract

Probiotics are described as single or multispecies live microorganisms that when administered, beneficially affect the host health. The quality of commercial probiotic products is poor and most products do not accurately meet their label claim. Aims: 1) To evaluate probiotic viability over time in good storage condition. 2) To evaluate commercial probiotic products and to compare results to label data. Methods: Serial 10-fold dilutions will be made in PBS. A 100-mL volume of each dilution will be inoculated onto the MRSc agar. The plates will be incubated anaerobically at 37°C for 48 h. Colonies will be counted at the end of incubation. The number of viable bacteria present in each product will be expressed as colony forming units per capsule/sachet. In addition, other microorganisms contamination will be checked.