Which sugar is best for probiotic? - (May/14/2014 )

Dear all, 

Does anyone know what type of sugar is the best for probiotic? Lactose, sucrose or fructose? 

Thanks. 

Regards, 

Shi Yiing 

Depends on the species...

Do you meant I need to carry out a test by growing the bacteria into the culture with different type of sugars and look at the growing rate? Or do you know is there any source from internet I can get such relevant information? Thanks.

No, I mean that some species like lactobacilli will grow better on lactose than they will on glucose - so if you know which species you are using, then you can probably gain some idea from the literature as to which sugars might be suitable.  It will also depend on the mode of transport into the body (e.g. glucose is rapidly absorbed into the blood), and the location (duodenum? jejunum? large intestine?)

Note that a lot of the probiotics are not simple sugars - many of the "dietary fibers" are complex sugars (e.g. inulin) that have probiotic effects.

Hi, 

Thanks for the comment. I am wondering do I need to add sugar since I have added inulin to my culture? Thanks. 

Maybe.  Can the bacteria you are using metabolize any of the sugars under the conditions that you will be growing them in?  It would be something to test - with and without. 

I have an idea, if I am adding fructose as a sugar source for my bacteria, is it possible to add fructo-oligosaccharide as well? Since FOS is derived from fructose. Thanks. 

Sure - they may break the fructose off the FOS, but again - it is something you should test!