Bacteria from the Lactobacillus plantarum species are typically gram positive, non-sporulating (non-spore-forming), and rod-shaped, occurring both singly or grouped together in short chains. This species is thought to adapt to stressors better than other members of the Lactobacillus genus, and researchers believe that it is the sequence of the L. plantarum genome that allows this microbe to be so flexible; however, it does prefer an aerobic environment to replicate in. It is good at utilising and breaking down a range of carbon sources wherever they are available to it, and this versatility means that the species can be found and isolated from a range of different sources including saliva, the human intestine, dairy products, plant material, and silage! Strains from this species are also used to ferment different foods such as sauerkraut, pickles, and sourdough bread.
As of April 2020 L. plantarum has been officially reclassified to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (Zheng J et al., 2020).
As some properties & benefits of probiotics may be strain-specific, this database provides even more detailed information at strain level. Read more about the strains that we have included from this genus below.
Lactobacillus acidophilus strains: Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM®, Lactobacillus acidophilus Rosell-52.
Lactobacillus casei strains: Lactobacillus casei Shirota, Lactobacillus casei DN-114001.
Lactobacillus plantarum strains: Lactobacillus plantarum LP299v.
Lactobacillus reuteri strains: Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14®.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1® , Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11.
Lactobacillus paracasei strains: Lactobacillus paracasei CASEI 431®.
For more info and the latest research on probiotics, please visit the Probiotic Professionals pages.