From ChatGPT:
• The original strain (Lactobacillus fermentum ME-3, DSM 14241) was deposited at DSMZ (Germany’s strain bank).
• Licensed companies (VF Bioscience in Europe) culture it under controlled lab conditions → freeze-dry it → encapsulate it.
• So unlike common yogurt cultures (which can be propagated locally), ME-3 is tightly held under patent/licensing agreements. You won’t find it just by buying generic L. fermentum.
I can no longer find the strain ME-3 anywhere. Must be a patent problem according to ChatGPT. Consumer Labs in their lipid section once favorably reviewed a product called Reg’Active ME -3 which contains this bacteria strain that lowers lipid levels. It was available on Amazon. Has been unavailable and off the market for a year now. It really lowered my lipid levels to normal. .
I take 5 mg rapamyacin weekly and the only side effect I’ve from this is dosage is elevated lipids. ME-3 worked like a charm.
I found Reg’Activ Essential ME-3 at a website called luminordic in Estonia. It’s 24,00 euros for 30 tabs . I haven’t ordered it yet. It appears they ship free to the US.
It’s hard sometimes to get the website in English. Update-- I ordered 10 packs the cost will be 30.00 a month. The shipping cost was high -not free any longer. So about 310 total US dollars.
I filled out a customs FDA form along with AI’s help for the box that was held by Customs. Seller didn’t know there would be a problem. I continuing with it because I saw a reduction in my blood lipid levels so I want to continue with it. Without it my GP will look askance at my lipid levels and tell me to get off rapa.
Snowflake,This strain can’t be obtained anywhere in the US or Europe other than from Reg’Active at 8 billion live cells per cap and it is not present at all in any other probiotic formulas except Reg’Activ had a formula with 4 billion but it has not been available either. Apparently it is something my system needs- glutathione.
This is the brand that I know of, looks like they are just out of stock:
As an aside I did not notice any positive effects on this probiotic after using it for a few months.
I am a bit skeptical of the specialized strains. Yes this is the one that has been studied and yes it probably has higher overall antioxidant properties than normal L Fermentum. But what’s stopping you from buying bulk L Fermentum at Custom Probiotics or Bulk Probiotics at like 200b vs 8b in these capsules? Even if its’ a small fraction of the amount of antioxidant ability the dosage should make up the difference?
It’s a shame because I have had a good response to other probiotics that produce compounds in the gut, namely C butyricum, the Miyarisan brand. I was very drawn to the idea that the Glutathione is produced where it needs to be, in the gut. Parkinson’s runs in my family and I was going to recommend this to my mom who has it if it helped. Maybe the 8bil dose is just too low?
For one small personal shipment, I basically had to:
Navigate the FDA Prior Notice system,
coordinate with FedEx International Clearance,
and pay multi-agency brokerage fee. Supplements are considered food when coming from Europe and are required to to have an extensive FDA form filled out. The seller didn’t file the form upfront so it was held by customs. It took me an afternoons work to fill out the form. it’s released now and on its way. Supplements coming from Europe are heavily regulated and taxed.