Live Cultures

A friend of mine had a concern because "generally probiotics need to be refrigerated to be considered 'live active cultures' and they need to be encapsulated so they are not killed by the stomach acids in order to make it to the intestinal tract." I looked into this and it's true for digestive track probiotics. BioGuard is a Melt-Tab so the good bacteria goes to work immediately in the mouth and is not intended to be digested. There is no need to refrigerate. It is a live culture and does have a shelf life.

Taken from the BioGuard website: "Most probiotic formulas focus only on digestive benefits in the stomach. The common digestive probiotics only establish themselves in your stomach if there is unoccupied space for them to “live". BioGuard contains an advanced probiotic known as S. Salivarius BLIS K12 that destroys competing bad bacteria ensuring there is space for BioGuard to flourish."

"Streptococcus salivarius K12 is a probiotic intended for use in the oral cavity. Strain K12 has had a 5-year history of commercial application as a probiotic in New Zealand, with approximately 150,000 doses administered to date." (for more information, click here)

A professor from Otago University in New Zealand has spent years looking for probiotic bacteria that would work in the mouth. "What Professor Tagg found was that S.salivarius K12 was able to make two defence peptides (called BLIS - Bacteriocin Like Inhibitory Substance [the active ingredient in BioGuard]) that the probiotic fired at encroaching invading bacteria. The probiotic recognised the closeness of these invading bacteria by sensing the voltage change along the cell wall of the invading bacteria. The BLIS peptide was fired at the invader, and the peptide punctured a hole in the cell wall allowing vital nutrients to leak out of the invading bacteria, thus causing its death. Thus S.salivarius K12 was able to maintain the status quo in mouth health, by controlling many opportunistic bacteria.

"Although this probiotic is effective against many bacteria including Streptococcus Pyogenes it is not a magic pill. The probiotic needs to be placed in a healthy mouth with a suitable mouth environment in order to colonise the tongue surface. The probiotic BLIS K12, cannot survive in an acid environment, and therefore would not be able to colonise in a mouth high in acid, or lacking oxygen (as found in smokers and alcohol drinkers)." (to see more on this study...)

Thanks to my friend for bringing up this subject. I have learned a lot! If anyone has any other comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to comment!