Effect of Pressure-Heat Sealing Used in Making Discrete Powder Preparations of Live Lactic Acid Bacteria

摘要

We investigated the numbers of live bacteria in the lactic acid bacteria containing powder products Lac-B? granular powder (Bifidobacterium ),Lebenin? (Antibiotics-resistant lactic acid bacteria),and Biolactis? powder (Lactobacillus casei ) before and after applying the pressure-heat sealing used in making discrete preparations of these products.The numbers of live lactic bacteria in all preparations were significantly reduced by pressure-heat sealing with a drop to 1/4 of that stated in the package insert for Lac-B? granular powder.In the case of Lebenin? and Biolactis? powder,the bacteria numbers dropped to 1/10 and 1/70 of those stated,respectively.It is thus unlikely that the number of live bacteria stated in the package inserts would be achieved for these products and one could not expect the clinical effects of the bacteria to be fully manifested when discrete preparations of the latter two products were orally administered. In order to clarify whether the numbers of live lactic acid bacteria were reduced by heat-treatment during the sealing of the package,all products were maintained at 115°C for 5 seconds in a thermostat.The results were almost identical to those obtained for pressure-heat sealing,suggesting that the decreases in numbers of the live bacteria in discrete preparations was mainly due to the heat-treatment involved in pressure-heat sealing. In conclusion,we propose that when making discrete preparations of lactic acid bacteria products,in particular Lebenin? and Biolactis? powder,no heating should be used in the sealing process.