Five Reasons Why Strain-Specific Enumeration Is Essential for Quality Probiotic Products

Strain-specific enumeration is a crucial step in the evaluation of probiotic products. By accurately quantifying the number of viable microorganisms in a probiotic sample, several product aspects can be assured: these include product quality, efficacy, production, comparison, and regulatory compliance. 

What is enumeration exactly? Enumeration refers to the process of quantifying the number of viable microorganisms in a sample of a probiotic product. The number of live bacteria present in the product can have a significant impact on its therapeutic benefits. 

5 Key reasons why strain-specific enumeration is important in probiotics:

• Ensuring product quality and efficacy: the number of live bacteria present in a probiotic supplement is a critical indicator of its quality. Live microorganisms are directly related to the intended health benefits. By accurately enumerating the bacteria in a product, we can determine the appropriate dosage needed to achieve the desired health effects.
• Confirms product label claims: probiotic products often include label claims about the number of live microorganisms they contain. Strain-specific enumeration allows manufacturers to confirm that their product meets these claims and ensures that customers receive a high-quality product that meets their expectations.
• Identifying potential production issues: strain-specific enumeration can help identify issues with the production, storage, or handling of a probiotic product. For example, low levels of live bacteria may indicate a problem with the manufacturing process or that the product has been stored incorrectly. 

• Enabling comparison between products: strain-specific enumeration allows for the comparison of different probiotic products, providing valuable information for consumers and healthcare professionals who need to choose between various options. 

• Ensuring regulatory compliance: enumeration is often required by regulatory bodies to ensure that probiotic products meet certain quality standards. By following standardized protocols and using validated methods for enumeration, manufacturers can ensure that their products meet regulatory requirements. 

There are several methods used for the enumeration of probiotics, including plate count methods, flow cytometry, and molecular techniques such as viability-qPCR (v-PCR).

Innovative strain-specific enumeration with viability qPCR is used for the analysis of raw material to all different dosage forms of probiotic products for accurate determination of viable counts throughout the shelf life.

Purity-IQ is a leader in strain-specific enumeration services and offers enumeration analysis that can be used for single or multi-strain blends, strain-specific counts, tyndallized (heat-killed), and next-generation probiotics.