Lactobacillus bulgaricus GLB44

GLB44 is derived from the leaves of the snowdrop plants; it is the only known strain of this subspecies that has a vegan origin (not from yogurt) and it is a probiotic.^[1]

The snowdrop plant is found in European mountainous regions, and blooms between January and May, when temperatures can fall below freezing in the region.^[2][3] Thus, GLB44 is also naturally capable of surviving in below-freezing temperatures, allowing GLB44 to survive in plant-based aliments stored at refrigerator temperatures.

GLB44 differs from other probiotics such as L. plantarum 299v or L. rhamnosus GG which are originally extracted from the human mouth.^[4] Others like Bifidobacterium are extracted from the feaces of newborns,^[5] while others, such as some strains of L. brevis, come from the human vaginal canal.^[6] GLB44 does not have any interference with mammalian organs, only flowers, leaves and juices.^[7] This is important for multiple reasons such as the fact that there is some scientific evidence that probiotics growing in the human mouth naturally could accelerate tooth decay.^[8]

While many probiotics have major allergens in the growth solution, GLB44 has no major allergens as part of its growth medium.^[4][9] For example, the growth medium for L. plantarum 299v includes barley, which contains a small amount of gluten,^[4] and L. rhamnosus GG has a small amount of casein.^[9] The fact that GLB44 is grown in vegetable juice means GLB44 does not contain any of the seven major allergens for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires additional labelling: lactose, gluten, soya, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, or crustacean shellfish.^[10]

Another major difference is the safety track record of L. bulgaricus, which is now over 109 years since it was scientifically isolated.^[7] There are certain similarities between L. bulgaricus GLB44 and some other probiotics. For example, L. bulgaricus, L. rhamnosus GG and L. plantarum 299v all have scientific records of their ability to pass successfully through the gastrointestinal tract.^[4][11][12]

The first L. bulgaricus was discovered more than a century ago, the result of a study into the unusual longevity of mountain villagers in Bulgaria (thus called L. bulgaricus) by Dr. Stamen Grigorov in 1905.^[1] In 1912, the New York Times wrote an overview article about the new discovery and the use of fermented yogurts with L. bulgaricus in Bulgaria titled “Metchnikoff Confirmed in His Theory of Long Life,” highlighting villager Vasilka, age 126, as the longest living person in the world.^[13] In Bulgarian communities there were 3,000 centenarians from a population of 3 million – six times higher than the number of centenarians per capita in the United States today.^[15] In the article the author described the discovery as follows: "In Bulgaria, the home of this bacillus, the majority of the natives live to age considerably in excess of what is recognized as the term of life among Western nations, an inquiry has shown that in the Eastern part of Southern Europe, among a population of about 3,000,000, there were more than 3,000 centenarians found performing duties which would not be assigned to a man of 65 years of age elsewhere. It is quite common to find among the peasants who live to such a large extent upon soured milk individuals of 110 and 120 years of age."

There is a complex interplay between the probiotic bacteria and the body's immune system in the large intestine, where bacteria stimulate the body's own immune system to inhibit the pathogenic bacteria.^[16] In a controlled study, 61 elderly volunteers, after 6 months of a daily dose of L. bulgaricus, responded to the intake of probiotic with an increase in the percentage of NK cells, an improvement in the parameters defining the immune risk profile (IRP), and an increase in the T cell subsets that are less differentiated. The probiotic group also showed decreased concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 but increased antimicrobial peptide hBD-2.^[16]