Practitioner FAQs

Lab4 is our original four-strain adult consortium, formulated in 1998 and the most extensively studied. Lab4B shares two of those strains but adds strains specific to the infant gut, making it suited to pregnancy and babies. Lab4P adds a fifth strain, Lactobacillus plantarum CUL66, studied specifically for metabolic health, weight management and women's wellbeing. Lab4S replaces the Lactobacillus plantarum with Saccharomyces boulardii, making it the preferred choice alongside antibiotic therapy.

ATB Intensive contains the Lab4S consortium — combining our four core Lab4 strains with Saccharomyces boulardii — and is specifically formulated for concurrent use with antibiotics. It has been studied in a 2024 double-blind, placebo-controlled trial showing beneficial impact on antibiotic-induced changes in the gut microbiome and reduced antibiotic resistance in the re-growth microbiota.

The general recommendation is to take ATB Intensive 2 hours apart from the antibiotic dose and continue for at least two weeks after the antibiotic course ends.

Yes. The For Adults – 25 Billion product specifies suitability during pregnancy in its usage guidance. The Lab4B consortium used in the baby range was specifically studied during pregnancy, with safety data recorded across 454 mothers — no additional adverse events were found in the probiotic arm of the Swansea Baby Study (Allen SJ et al, 2010).

The Lab4 Probiotics Research section of this hub contains all studies organised by product, with links to the published papers. A complete PDF list of all Lab4 clinical studies is also available directly from lab4probiotics.co.uk.

The Lab4 consortia are identified, developed and manufactured by Cultech Ltd, ProVen Biotics' parent company, based in Wales. Cultech operates its own manufacturing facility and has developed a proprietary process to ensure strain viability, survivability and stability through to the expiry date — bacteria counts are guaranteed to expiry, not just at manufacture.

Each strain undergoes rigorous screening for viability, survivability, storage requirements, attachment capabilities and antimicrobial properties before inclusion in any consortium.