''Bifidobacterium animalis'' is a

gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bac ...

, anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium of the ''

Bifidobacterium ''Bifidobacterium'' is a genus of gram-positive, nonmotile, often branched anaerobic bacteria. They are ubiquitous inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract though strains have been isolated from the vagina and mouth ('' B. dentium'') of mammal ...

'' genus which can be found in the

large intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being r ...

s of most mammals, including humans. ''Bifidobacterium animalis'' and ''Bifidobacterium lactis'' were previously described as two distinct species. Presently, both are considered ''B. animalis'' with the subspecies ''Bifidobacterium animalis'' subsp. ''animalis'' and ''Bifidobacterium animalis'' subsp. ''lactis''. Both old names ''B. animalis'' and ''B. lactis'' are still used on product labels, as this species is frequently used as a

probiotic Probiotics are live microorganisms promoted with claims that they provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut microbiota. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria- host i ...

. In most cases, which subspecies is used in the product is not clear.

Trade names

Several companies have attempted to trademark particular strains, and as a marketing technique, have invented scientific-sounding names for the strains.

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of t ...

(Dannon in the United States) markets the subspecies strain as Bifidus Digestivum (UK), Bifidus Regularis (US and Mexico), Bifidobacterium Lactis or B.L. Regularis (Canada), DanRegularis (Brazil), Bifidus Actiregularis (Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain and the UK), and Bifidus Essensis in the Middle East (and formerly in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and The Netherlands) through

Activia Activia is a brand of yogurt owned by Groupe Danone (Dannon in the United States) and introduced in France in 1987. As of 2013, Activia is present in more than 70 countries and on 5 continents. Activia is classified as a functional food, designed ...

from Safi Danone KSA. Chr. Hansen A/S from Denmark has a similar claim on a strain of ''Bifidobacterium animalis'' subsp. ''lactis'', marketed under the trademark BB-12.

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, w ...

lists "Bifidobacterium BB-12" in its "Proviact" yogurt. ''Bifidobacterium lactis'' Bl-04 and Bi-07 are strains from DuPont's

Danisco Danisco A/S is a Danish bio-based company with activities in food production, enzymes and other bioproducts as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipients. It was formed in 1989 from the largest Danish industrial merger ever of th ...

FloraFIT range. They are used in many dietary probiotic supplements. Theralac contains the strains ''Bifidobacterium lactis BI-07'' and ''Bifidobacterium lactis BL-34'' (also called BI-04) in its probiotic capsule. ''Bifidobacterium lactis'' HN019 is a strain from

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue ex ...

licensed to DuPont, which markets it as HOWARU Bifido. It is sold in a variety of commercial probiotics, among them

Tropicana Products Tropicana Brands (''pronounced as'' traa·puh·ka·nuh) is a former American fruit-based beverage company. It was founded in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi in Bradenton, Florida. Between 1998 and 2021 it was a subsidiary of PepsiCo, but in August 2021 ...

Essentials Probiotics, Attune Wellness Bars and NOW Foods Clinical GI Probiotic. Fonterra has a yogurt that is sold in New Zealand called Symbio Probalance, where the strain is labelled as DR10.

Research

''Bifidobacterim animalis'' subspecies lactis BB-12 administered in combination with other probiotics has showed "a trend toward increased remission" in a study of 32 patients with

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood ( hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, an ...

Products

''B. animalis'' is present in many food products and dietary supplements. The

is mostly found in dairy products."American Society for MicrobiologyApplied and Environmental Microbiology." Strain-Specific Genotyping of Bifidobacterium Animalis Subsp. Lactis by Using Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Insertions, and Deletions. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2014.

Health concerns

The manipulation of the

gut flora Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora, are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut ...

is complex and may cause bacteria-host interactions. Although

s, in general, are considered safe, there are concerns about their use in certain cases. Some people, such as those with compromised immune systems,

short bowel syndrome Short bowel syndrome (SBS, or simply short gut) is a rare malabsorption disorder caused by a lack of functional small intestine. The primary symptom is diarrhea, which can result in dehydration, malnutrition, and weight loss. Other symptoms may in ...

central venous catheters A central venous catheter (CVC), also known as a central line(c-line), central venous line, or central venous access catheter, is a catheter placed into a large vein. It is a form of venous access. Placement of larger catheters in more centra ...

, heart valve disease and

premature infants Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

, may be at higher risk for adverse events. Rarely, consumption of probiotics may cause

bacteremia Bloodstream infections (BSIs), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microb ...

, and

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is foll ...

, potentially fatal infections in children with lowered immune systems or who are already critically ill.

References

External links

whatisbifidusregularis.org/
– A deconstruction of the terms Bifidus Actiregularis, Bifidus Regularis, Bifidus Digestivum, L. Casei Immunitas and their variants, as well as the marketing strategy, and information about the potential health benefits of live yoghurts.

– How to select a probiotic
Type strain of ''Bifidobacterium animalis'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bifidobacterium Animalis Bifidobacteriales Bacteriology Digestive system Probiotics Bacteria described in 1969