Probiotic Viability Reconsidered: Integrating VBNC Resuscitation and Culture-Independent Methods for Accurate Probiotic Enumeration
We are proud to announce the publication of our latest research in the prestigious, peer-reviewed journal Microorganisms. Authored by our own R&D experts, this feature paper provides a critical review that addresses a fundamental challenge facing the functional foods and beverage industry: accurately measuring probiotic viability.
The industry gold standard for quantifying probiotics—the Colony-Forming Unit (CFU) count—has a significant blind spot. Under the environmental stresses of food production, storage, or transit through the digestive system, probiotic cells can enter a Viable But Non-Culturable (VBNC) state.
While these VBNC cells remain metabolically active and potentially beneficial, they are undetectable by traditional CFU methods. This discrepancy forces manufacturers to risk non-compliance with label claims or resort to costly overdosing, ultimately underestimating the true efficacy of a product.
The Integrated, Dual-Measurement Strategy
Our review, titled “Probiotic Viability Reconsidered: Integrating VBNC Resuscitation and Culture-Independent Methods for Accurate Probiotic Enumeration,” advocates for a more rigorous and accurate approach.
The paper provides essential guidance on an integrated, dual-measurement strategy that reconciles culture-dependent and culture-independent data, including:
Controlled Resuscitation of VBNC Cells: Methodology to differentiate true VBNC revival from population growth, improving the accuracy of CFU counts.
Culture-Independent Methods: Utilizing cutting-edge techniques such as flow cytometry quantification of Active Fluorescent Units (AFUs), viability PCR, and rRNA-targeted Flow-FISH to detect metabolically active cells that CFU counts miss.