Lactobacillus bulgaricus GLB44 Lactobacillus bulgaricus GLB44 "Lactobacillus delbrueckii" subsp. "bulgaricus" is a bacterial subspecies traditionally isolated from European yogurts. Lactobacillus bulgaricus GLB44 differs from the rest of the "L. bulgaricus" strains as it was isolated from the leaves of "Galanthus nivalis" (snowdrop flower) in Bulgaria, becoming the only known strain of this subspecies that has vegan origin (not from yogurt) available as a commercial probiotic. Probiotics are health promoting bacteria which, when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a benefit on the host, normally associated with positive effects on the digestive and immune systems, and are usually prescribed during or after antibiotic treatment to
Galanthus nivalis (flowering stalk), which bears at the top a pair of bract-like spathe valves joined by a papery membrane. From between them emerges a solitary, pendulous, bell-shaped white flower, held on a slender pedicel. The flower consists of six tepals, also referred to as segments. The outer three are larger and more convex than the inner ones. The inner flower segments are usually marked on their outer surface with a green or greenish-yellow V- or U-shaped mark (sometimes described as "bridge-shaped") over the small sinus (notch) at the tip of each tepal. The inner surface has a faint green mark covering