Probiotic Strains

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDReviewed by Sally Robertson, B.Sc.

Live probiotic bacteria can be found in yoghurts and other foods fortified with probiotics. These “friendly” bacteria are also available in the freeze-dried form as tablets, sachets and powders, for example.

To understand how a probiotic strain is named, Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can be used as examples. Here, Lactobacillus refers to the genus; casei or rhamnosus to the species, while GG and DN-114 001 are unique strain designations.

Other examples of probiotic strains are give below:

Bifidobacterium

• Bifidobacterium animalis DN 173 010
• Bifidobacterium infantis 35624
• Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 (DR10)
• Bifidobacterium longum BB536  

Lactobacillus

• Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 
• Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM 
• Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001
• Lactobacillus casei CRL431 
• Lactobacillus casei F19
• Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 (Lj1)
• Lactobacillus plantarum 299V
• Lactobacillus reuteri ATTC 55730
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 53013 (LGG)
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB21
• Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118   
• Lactobacillus acidophilus LAFTI® L10

Combinations

Some examples of combination probiotics include:

• Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 & Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14
• Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285 & Lactobacillus casei Lbc80r
• Lactobacillus acidophilus CUL60 & Bifidobacterium bifidum CUL 20
• Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 & Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011

Further Reading

• What are Probiotics?
• Probiotic Research
• Probiotic Benefits
• Probiotic Side Effects
• Probiotics History