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Harvard Medical School Continues Education About Benefits of
Probiotics

BOSTON, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- An emerging body of scientific research
about probiotics was presented today at the academic conference,
"Protective Nutrients, Are They Here To Stay?" an annual Harvard
Medical School Division of Nutrition Annual Postgraduate Nutrition
Symposium. Every year, cutting-edge topics are selected to provide
education about emerging topics in nutrition to key opinion leaders
and healthcare providers, and this year probiotics took center stage.

The symposium brought together world-class researchers to discuss the
interactions between diet and protective nutrients, such as
probiotics, and to describe the mechanisms at work behind their
specific health benefits. Probiotics are defined by FAO/WHO as "live
microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer a
health benefit on the host."

Dr. W. Allan Walker, Director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard
Medical School, opened the day and a half symposium taking a look into
the scientific and academic journal standard for protective nutrients.
Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D., Executive Director of the International
Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), provided
an overview about probiotics highlighting that specific strains of
probiotics function uniquely in different conditions since
(collectively speaking) they are a diverse group of microorganisms. "A
probiotic must undergo controlled evaluation to document health
benefits in humans," she said. The ISAPP recently clarified the FAO/
WHO definition, including this detail.

Philip Sherman, M.D., FRCP(C), FAAP, Gastroenterologist and Senior
Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Professor
of Paediatrics in the Department of Microbiology and Dentistry at the
University of Toronto, who moderated the session, discussed the
precise mechanisms of action by which probiotics function. "Some
probiotics affect integrity of the epithelial barrier, while others
impact different aspects of immune function," said Sherman.

Consuming certain specific probiotics, like those in cultured dairy
products, can help strengthen the body's natural defenses by providing
a regular source of "friendly" bacteria to the intestinal tract. This
helps to correct any imbalance of beneficial to "bad" bacteria. Also,
since about 70 percent of the human immune system is located in the
digestive tract, certain probiotics have been found to help to
optimize the function of the immune system as well as various
functions of the intestinal lining.

Additional experts on the program included Stefano Guandalini, M.D.
(Director of the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center), Martin
Floch, M.D. (Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale School of
Medicine), and Eamonn Quigley, M.D. (Professor of Medicine and Human
Physiology at Cork University Hospital). They shared their extensive
knowledge and the latest research about probiotics in children,
adults, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, respectively, as well as their
insights about current preventive practices, treatments, and health
promoting approaches.

Specific strains of probiotics have been clinically shown to be
effective in the prevention and treatment of certain gastrointestinal
disorders, respiratory infections, and allergic conditions. This
educational program provided scientific evidence to health
professionals who are increasingly recommending them to patients.

As new research has emerged demonstrating an increasingly wide range
of uses for probiotics to benefit human health, probiotic foods and
supplements continue to grow in usage and awareness in the US market
and are expected to continue to expand.

The conference was made possible in part by an unrestricted
educational grant provided by The Dannon Company, Inc. and Yakult
Honsha Co., Ltd.

For more information about probiotics, visit www.usprobiotics.org.

A Web cast of the symposium will be made available at
http://nutrition.med.harvard.edu/webcast.html

Dannon and Yakult Continue to Advocate and Lead Probiotic Research and
Education

In March 2004, Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., the parent company of Yakult
U.S.A., Inc. and Danone, the parent company of The Dannon Company,
jointly established the Global Probiotics Council. The role of the GPC
is to promote and advance probiotics in the world by raising public
awareness through education, communicating the latest knowledge to
relevant interest groups, and supporting collaborative research in the
areas of probiotics and intestinal microbiota.

The Dannon Company is America's founding national yogurt company and
continually leverages its expertise to develop and market innovative
cultured fresh dairy products in the United States. Headquartered in
White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX,
and West Jordan, UT. The company produces and sells approximately 100
different types of flavors, styles and sizes of cultured fresh dairy
products. Dannon is owned by Danone, one of the world's leading
producers of packaged foods and beverages, and Dannon is the top-
selling brand of yogurt products worldwide, sold under the names
Dannon and Danone. With a strong commitment to high-quality,
wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, The Dannon Company is
committed to encouraging healthy eating and living. This commitment is
also illustrated through The Dannon Company's support of the Dannon
Institute, an independent, non-profit foundation dedicated to
promoting research, education, and communication about the links
between nutrition, diet and health. For more information, please visit
www.dannon.com. For more information about probiotics, visit
www.probioticscenter.com.

Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is the world's
pioneer in probiotics by introducing the first single shot probiotics
drink, Yakult(R), in 1935. Founded by microbiologist Dr. Minoru
Shirota, Yakult(R) contains high amounts of its signature strain,
Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Yakult is committed to researching the
endless applications for probiotics and the use of intestinal bacteria
in human health around the world. The company has established two
science institutes to support its efforts; one in Japan (Yakult
Central Institute for Microbiological Research) and one in Europe
(Yakult Honsha European Research Center for Microbiology ESV). Since
developing its overseas network in 1964, Yakult has expanded its
business to 32 countries and territories. In addition to producing the
internationally recognized probiotic beverage, Yakult is also
accredited in the pharmaceutical field for its development of Campto
Injection (Camptosar), the first-line drug for colorectal cancer in
the U.S. Yakult U.S.A. Inc., the subsidiary of Yakult Honsha Co.,
Ltd., is stationed in Torrance, CA. For more information, please visit
www.yakult.co.jp/english, www.yakult.co.jp/institute, www.yakultusa.com.

Website: http://www.probioticscenter.com