Thousands of probiotics strains are stored in 11 ultra-low temperature freezers in Jiangnan University. [Photo/ourjiangsu.com]

Jiangnan University in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province is home to the largest probiotics collection in China.

As of June 30, the collection contained more than 25,000 probiotics strains, including all varieties that are allowed to be used in food and 200 strains that are awaiting or have patents, said Wang Gang, a professor at the School of Food Science and Technology of the university.

More than 6,000 specimens deposited in the probiotics bank were collected from a wide range of sources, including soil, water, fermented food and human feces, in 131 counties across 29 provinces in China, said Tang Xin, an associate professor at the university and a member of the functional food and healthcare research team, which is responsible for the probiotics program.

It usually takes two to eight years to complete research on a probiotics strain and costs up to millions of yuan to develop a patented strain, according to professor Wang.

The research team, which has been studying probiotics for over 40 years, has received 43 national and provincial-level awards to date. They have also made a big difference in related industries. For example, German multinational pharmaceutical company Bayer launched a probiotics product in 2021 using a strain developed by the university. Bright Food and Dairy Co is also working with the university to develop new products.