Enumeration and Identification
BACKGROUND:
Probiotics are live micro-organisms that confer health benefits on the host when they are administered in adequate numbers (FAO/WHO, 2001). The survival of these organisms in a product is essential to ensure their efficacy. It is important to accurately enumerate and differentiate the probiotic strains in a mixed probiotic population. At Eurofins | ams, the enumeration and differentiation of probiotics in products such as dietary supplements, foods and therapeutic products are performed by using the selective media that have been developed and effectively used in many research projects at universities and industries in Australia. The stability of probiotics is also determined by testing their survival during shelf-life studies of the products. Identification or confirmation of probiotic strains can be performed using “genetic fingerprint” technology using our Eurofins IDmyk Comparative Sequencing system.
PRINCIPLE OF THE TEST:
Selective enumeration by conventional viable cell count method:
The conventional bacterial viable cell count method relies on the accuracy in using suitable media and plating techniques. Most probiotic strains are facultative anaerobes or strict anaerobes. They require 36-48 hours to grow in a complex nutritional media. Aseptically, samples are dissolved in a sterile diluent and serial decimal dilutions are performed. Aliquots of selected dilutions are plated on appropriate media. The plates are incubated at 37oC for 48 hours. The colony forming unit (CFU) are counted.
Microbial Identification using the Eurofins IDmyk Comparative Sequencing system:
Unknown bacteria samples are identified using the Eurofins IDmyk Comparative Sequencing microbial identification software and 16S rRNA gene sequence database, containing over 8,470 entries. Routine bacterial identification is performed using the first 1,100 bp of the rDNA.
SAMPLE REQUIREMENTS:
TURNAROUND TIME:
5-10 days
