ABSTRACT
Universite´ de Nancy 1, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, and Centre de Recherche International
Andre´ Gaillard, Ivry-sur-Seine, France
The medical world has long been interested in the nutrient properties of yogurt. The theory
of Metchnikoff,[1] which holds that milk fermented with Lactobacillus has a favorable
influence on the endogenous intestinal flora, was challenged in 1915 by Rahe, who demon-
strated that these microorganisms do not survive passage through the stomach and small
intestine. Subsequently, numerous studies have been carried out on Lactobacillus. The
frequently contradictory findings are due to the unreliability of the methods for isolating
and identifying bacteria from stools.
