Current Status and Future Trends of Bifidobacteria-related Research and Products in the USA

Bifidobacteria have been known and studied throughout the 20th century. The early work originated at the Pasteur Institute. Since that time basic and applied research on bifidobacteria have been done worldwide, with a portion carried out in the U.S. Presently Japan dominates the study and development of bifidobacteria for human use. This article examines some of the possible reasons for the minor role of the U.S. in the study of bifidobacteria and development of bifidobacteria-amended products, with a discussion of future trends in this area.