Sustenex® by Schiff are dietary supplements containing a patented strain of Bacillus coagulans under the branded name, BC30.
What is Bacillus coagulans?
Bacillus coagulans is a species of beneficial bacteria, or probiotics. As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), probiotics are live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. Sustenex
® brand probiotics all contain the specific beneficial probiotic strain,
Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086.
Why Bacillus coagulans is important to your health
Many factors, including age, travel, a poor diet, stress and certain medications can disturb your intestinal balance and decrease levels of beneficial bacteria which are important to maintaining your digestive health. Taking a daily probiotic supplement, like Sustenex
® with
BC30 (
Bacillus coagulans), can help maintain a healthy intestinal balance, and support a normal immune system.
According to a leading probiotic scientist, "The use of probiotics can help us achieve a balance that we couldn't otherwise meet through the average American diet alone."
Learn more about immune and digestive health >>
Benefits of Bacillus coagulans
- SURVIVABILITY Bacillus coagulans survive the manufacturing process and harsh stomach acids to reach the intestinal tract*
- SHELF STABLE Bacillus coagulans requires no refrigeration
- TAKES ITS PLACE IN THE GI TRACT Bacillus coagulans successfully takes its place in the GI collection of bacteria*
- LACTIC ACID PRODUCTION Bacillus coagulans produces the preferred L+ optical isomer of lactic acid*
Bacillus coagulans is a spore-forming bacteria
Spore-forming means it can be compared to a seed. When left alone, the seed is dormant - meaning it's not alive, yet it's not dead either. It's kept in a state of "readiness" by a protective shell. However, when this seed is put into the right temperature and moisture, it starts to germinate, or grow. A spore-forming bacteria, such as
Bacillus coagulans, works in a very similar way.
Sustenex® is a widely-available probiotic product that contains Bacillus coagulans.
Learn more about Sustenex® >>
Just as a seed waits for the proper conditions to start growing, so does Bacillus coagulans. However, for spore-forming bacteria, these conditions are met in the body's intestinal tract. Here, the spore-forming bacteria meet the right temperature and moisture where they begin to grow and colonize - two critical factors for any probiotic bacteria.
Sustenex® contains BC30 - the trademarked name for Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086
Learn more about BC30 >>
What makes Bacillus coagulans different from other bacteria?
Bacillus coagulans is surrounded by a protective shield. This protective layer helps
Bacillus coagulans survive the heat and pressure of manufacturing and the acids in the stomach in order to arrive alive and intact in the intestines* - their intended target. Other traditional probiotic bacteria, such as
Bifidobacterium and
Lactobacillus, do not contain this protective outer shell making them more vulnerable.
The history behind Bacillus coagulans
Bacillus coagulans was first isolated in 1932 by Horowitz-Walssowa and Nowotelnow (1) and named
Lactobacillus sporogenes with a description appearing in the fifth edition of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. It was initially considered to be a spore-forming
Lactobacillus. Furthermore, since
Bacillus coagulans exhibits characteristics typical of both genera
Lactobacillus and
Bacillus, its taxonomic position between the families
Lactobacillaceae and
Bacillaceae was often debated. However, in 1939 it was finally transferred to the genus
Bacillus and subsequently renamed as
Bacillus coagulans in the seventh edition of Bergey's. DNA-based technology was used in distinguishing between the two species of bacteria which are morphologically similar and possess similar physiological and biochemical characteristics.
- Bacillus coagulans is a Gram-positive spore-forming rod 0.9u by 3.0u to 5.0u in size, aerobic to microaerophilic.
- On activation of spore formation in the acidic environment of the stomach, Bacillus coagulans can germinate and proliferate in the intestine, producing the favored L (+) optical isomer of lactic acid.
- Bacillus coagulans provides a platform for several potentially useful applications.
Is Bacillus coagulans the same as Lactobacillus sporogenes?
Answer: Bacillus coagulans is often marketed as
Lactobacillus sporogenes or a "spore forming lactic acid bacterium" probiotic; however this is an outdated name due to taxonomic changes in 1939 as stated above. Although
Bacillus coagulans does produce L+ lactic acid,
Bacillus coagulans is not a lactic acid bacterium, as
Bacillus species do not belong to the lactic acid bacteria. By definition, lactic acid bacteria such as
Lactobacillus and
Bifidobacterium do not form spores. Therefore, using the name
"Lactobacillus sporogenes" is scientifically incorrect.
Sustenex®. For Every Body, Every Day.
