TEHRAN – A knowledge-based company at the Mazandaran Science and Technology Park in northern Iran has produced a probiotics supplement containing indigenous bacteria which has compatibility with the Iranian diet.

Probiotics are live microorganisms intended to provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut flora. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume but may cause bacteria-host interactions and unwanted side effects in rare cases.

The indigenous bacteria is effective due to climatic and diet situation of people in the country, the managing director of the company Behzad Alaeddini explained.

“Each gram of the probiotics product contains 10 million bacteria. Using an exclusive method, the company can produce 2,000 units of probiotics each month, which can meet the needs of factories for their raw material.”

In comparison with foreign rivals, the domestically-produced product has a more reasonable price and a higher quality, he said.

Probiotics in the world

According to Wiley Online Library, probiotics have become a popular approach for managing digestive and immune health and are being recommended more frequently as effective therapeutic interventions by medical professionals. Introduced early in the 20th century, the science of probiotics has advanced considerably, especially in the past two decades.

In the global marketplace, probiotics are found primarily in three main categories – foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals. The regulatory category of some newer products containing probiotics is unclear.

The quality of probiotic products, including reliability and accuracy of product labeling, can vary considerably amongst the product category and geographical regions. Currently, there is no global harmonization of regulatory frameworks dictating manufacturing and claim substantiation requirements for probiotics. Consumers and manufacturers would greatly benefit from efforts to verify product quality through a third party.

SB/MG