According to a publication called The Consumer’s Guide to Probiotics, by S.K. Dash (2005), back in the early 1970s, government officials, scientists and ranchers were only just beginning to understand the extent of the use of antibiotics used in animal husbandry practices. Antibiotics are often used in raising large numbers of livestock in confined conditions, in order to maintain their health.

In the 1950s, a probiotic drug was being researched for a disease called scour (diarrhea) that occurred in pigs and calves, often due to E. coli infections. The probiotic was found to be 97% effective in combating infection, which was equivalent in efficacy to the antibiotic, neomycin sulfate. This natural probiotic had no adverse effects on the livestock, was not found in the edible portions of the meat (unlike antibiotics), promoted other health benefits and was relatively inexpensive. Nonetheless, because the manufacturers of antibiotics were better funded compared to the probiotic companies, probiotics lost the battle against antibiotic manufacturers.

S.K. Dash, Ph.D., was the director of the Food and Drug Administration for South Dakota between 1973-1979 and, after learning this story, went on to form UAS Laboratories. UAS is reportedly the first commercial manufacturer of probiotic supplements to implement a unique process of commercially producing, freeze-drying and naturally stabilizing the bacterium for delivery to consumer; introduce non-dairy probiotics; introduce quality-control standards for probiotics requiring guarantee of viable bacteria (cfu/g); package probiotics with nitrogen to improve the stability of the probiotics; prove that a particular “superstrain” of Lactobacillus acidophilus, DDS-1, can pass through stomach acid, implant in the intestines and multiply 100- to 200-fold; and incorporate the prebiotic fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) with probiotics to enhance their growth in intestines.

In fact, Dash helped introduce quality control standards to the industry, while working with the FDA, and these are the probiotics used by the worldwide probiotics industry today. UAS Laboratories produces L. acidophilus DDS-1, as well as specialty supplements and probiotic raw materials. Besides L. acidophilus, other probiotics available at UAS also include L. plantarum, L. casei, L. rhamnosus and others.

The keystone of UAS’s specialty supplement line is a proprietary probiotic superstrain called DDS-1. DDS-1 has been well-studied and shown to have antibiotic activity against many strains of harmful bacteria, including harmful species of Bacillus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Pseudomonas and Staphylococus, among others. DDS-1 is considered GRAS and has been shown in studies to be effective in promoting many health benefits.

When L. acidophilus DDS-1 is cultured under proprietary conditions, it is stable for up to two years (blended with low water activity microcrystalline cellulose) at ambient (23ËšC) temperature.

According to Dash, “It is apparent that our polluted environment, consumption of processed foods, chlorinated water, and heavy use of antibiotics and other medications can destroy the friendly microflora of the gastrointestinal tract, thus making the body susceptible to yeast infection and other disease. Supplementation with good quality probiotics through functional foods and dietary supplements can reverse this effect and lead to greater population of beneficial bacteria.”  NS
--Kerry Hughes, Technical Field Editor

For more information:
UAS Laboratories Inc. • Eden Prairie, Minn.
S.K. Dash, Ph.D. • 952-935-1707
dash@uaslabs.com • www.uaslabs.com

References:
Dash,SK. Topanga, Freedom Press, 2005.
Dash,SK, and Gerasimov, SV. 2004. AgroFood Industry Hi-Tech. 15:23-6.