As Dr. Ohhira delved further into the science of good health, he discovered that certain naturally fermented foods consumed in Asia are a rich source of lactic acid bacteria. After years of studying the known strains of lactic acid bacteria occurring in fermented foods indigenous to Southeast Asia, Dr. Ohhira developed an award-winning probiotic formula that recolonizes the microflora in the digestive tract, enhances the immune system, and promotes good health.

Dr. Ohhira also has found that the excessive use of antibiotics has led to the creation of new strains of "super" bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. To combat these new harmful invaders, Dr. Ohhira's team developed a special, transient TH 10 strain of friendly lactic acid bacteria that was successfully isolated from the Malaysian food delicacy--Tempeh. This special TH 10 strain has been found during in vitro studies to be extremely effective against the most potent antibiotic resistant MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) superbug.

The transient, combative TH 10 lactic acid bacteria may be the most important strain of bacteria in Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula because of its ability to kill and eliminate harmful bacteria found in the colon. It also aids in the removal of toxins produced in the colon by the bad bacteria. After consumption, the TH 10 bacteria reside in the Gl tract for an extended period of time where they flourish and coexist with the "colonizer" bacteria, like the lactobacillus and bifidobacteria strains that inhabit the gastrointestinal walls and aid in digestion and the absorption of nutrients.

Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula is made only in Japan using a five-year, natural-environment method of manufacturing. Only superior natural ingredients are used in Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula.

The special TH 10 strain of bacteria, as well as the eleven other strains of live lactic acid bacteria, are created during a five-year period that includes a two-year natural fermentation period (during which time superior raw materials are introduced), a two-year "maturation" process, and a one-year period that permits the final modification of Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula, all accomplished in a natural temperature environment. During this five-year period, only organic ingredients are used including wild herbs and fruits collected from the cold mountainous Chugoku district of Japan and seaweed carefully harvested from Japan's ocean.

Ingredients include 92 types of natural crops, including special leaves, bark, herbs and fruits, which grow wild in a vast region of the Kibi Highlands and Hiruzen Highlands of the Chugoku district, several kinds of seaweed and various organic vegetables. This proprietary blend is combined with twelve strains of lactic acid bacteria, which include the most prominent strains of bacteria possessing the highest proteolytic power in the world. In fact, scientists have established that the lactic acid bacteria contained in Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula are 6.25 times stronger than any naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria.

Major ingredients used in Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula include--seven wild fruits: Chinese matrimony (Lychium Chinese), Wild vine (Vitis coignetiae), Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra), Mulberry (Mows australis), Wild strawberry (Rubus buergeri), and Oleaster (Elaeagnus montana)', two seaweed: Sea tangle (Laminaria japonica) and Brown seaweed (hijikia fusiforme); and two herbs: Mugwort (Artemisia montana) and Broad-leafed plantain (Plantago asciatica).

During the five-year production period, the creation of the four organic acids--acetic, formic, fumaric and lactic---are carefully monitored. Daily inspections are conducted to determine the pH and nutrient levels of the fermentation product and to guard against contamination. Inspections also assure compliance with stringent Japanese good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards. Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula is analyzed by the Japan Food Research Laboratories, which is authorized by the Japanese Government. Only when Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula accumulates a scientifically preordained level of organic acids is the raw paste ready for encapsulation. The highly regarded Fuji Capsule Company Limited of Japan provides the high-tech encapsulation of Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula.

Dr. Ohhira has developed a special outer capsule that permits Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula to remain highly viable with a stable shelf life of more than five years when properly handled and stored. Unlike other probiotics, it contains 12 strains of friendly "live" lactic acid bacteria (numbering in the hundreds of millions), vitamins, minerals, amino acids, organic acids and important natural byproducts when it is encapsulated. Dr. Ohhira's Original Probiotic Formula is guaranteed to contain those "listed" nutrients, although the actual levels of vitamins, minerals and amino acids may vary slightly among batches due to the natural variation of ingredients.