Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1: A Super Strain Probiotic?

Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 (L. acidophilus DDS-1) is a strain discovered in the late 1950’s by Dr. Khem Shahani at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Shahani founded the probiotics manufacturing company Nebraska Cultures in 1981 and the DDS-1 (Department of Dairy Science strain #1) line.

In the past, Dr. Shahani's probiotic supplements competed with UAS Laboratories, LLC's products, with each of them declaring that their DDS-1 was the best. Although the microbe was the same, their preparation methods differed. As of April 3, 2018, Nebraska Cultures was acquired by UAS Laboratories, LLC.

UAS will now own all rights to this probiotic, offering exclusivity to it in global products.

What Does Research Show?

UAS stated  in their announcement of the acquisition of Nebraska Cultures that they plan to continue the  research and development of Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1.

Human-based studies are sparse at the current time of April, 2018. I will update this page as more research becomes available.

  • This strain is shown to temporarily colonize in the GI tract.
  • Combined with Bifidobacterium lactis, DDS-1 shortened acute respiratory infection in preschool and elementary children in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
  • Combined with Bifidobacterium lactis, DDS-1 provided significant clinical improvement in preschool children with atopic dermatitis when the product was taken twice daily in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
  • In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study with a 4-week treatment arm, this strain was evaluated for its effects on relieving discomfort related to lactose intolerance. Results showed statistically significant reductions in abdominal symptom scores during a six-hour lactose challenge at the end of the treatment arm for diarrhea, abdominal cramping, vomiting, and overall symptom score.

Where Can You Find Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1?

L. acidophilus DDS-1 has a short, but impressive human resume’ and you can find it in numerous products such as: (please always check current ingredients prior to purchase)

Douglas Labs Multi-Probiotics has 15 billion CFU total. It has 4.3 billion CFU of DDS-1 as well as L. gasseri and contains milk. Find it in my online dispensary.


Biotics Research BioDophilus Caps have DDS-1 in them. Find it in my online dispensary.


Biotics Research BioDophilus-FOS powder has DDS-1 in it. Find it in my online dispensary.


UP4 products by UAS Laboratories (The link takes to you my review of them. Each UP4 product contains the DDS-1 strain.)


Dr. Mercola's Complete Probiotics (The link takes you to my review of the product.)


I would not take DDS-1 as the only probiotic strain I ever take, however, because I firmly believe, and this belief is supported by research, that it takes a village of various beneficial microbes to keep us healthy. That is why you will find it in multi-species products.

So I would use DDS-1 by itself as intensive support short-term, or use it as part of a probiotics-support plan, including:

If you need help deciding if Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 is right for you, consider nutritional consultations.

Click here for information about the general Lactobacillus acidophilus species.

This link will take you to the Lactobacillus page.


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