Daily Synbiotic

The Daily Synbiotic is the first probiotic to undergo whole-genome testing—the application of shotgun sequencing to microbial DNA to understand biodiversity and function and measure relative abundance.

Translation: We know which strains are present, and in what ratios.

In addition to CFU, we test for AFU (Active Fluorescent Units)—the most advanced and precise enumeration method for probiotics today. These are measured through flow cytometry, a process where probiotic cells are tagged with fluorescent ‘markers’ and counted by a laser as they pass through a tube. Through AFU, we are able to calculate a more precise measurement of all viable cells, including ones that are efficacious but not necessarily culturable (and therefore would not be counted in a traditional plated CFU measurement—what you’re probably used to seeing on probiotics labels).

If you’re not familiar, CFU stands for Colony Forming Units, and is reflected in plating, a classic microbiology technique that has been used since the 1800s. This technique shows the number of ‘colonies’ that are formed on a plate through a series of dilutions. While it remains the industry standard, CFU is not an exact science. It can vary widely between batch lots, and it is ineffective for multi-strain probiotics, as different strains of bacteria require different growth media.

*Due to the recent transition of our prebiotic blend from a liquid suspension to dry powder, SHIME testing on our Daily Synbiotic will be repeated to ensure the same depth of data—all updates will be posted in July 2020. Learn more about why we made this change.

Most probiotics don’t survive the trip to your gut. The Daily Synbiotic is the first to harness the ViaCap™—a capsule delivery technology that nests our probiotic strains inside a solubilized blend of the prebiotic compounds. The Prebiotic Outer Capsule acts as an additional barrier to oxygen, moisture, and heat to safeguard and ensure the viability of the Probiotic Inner Capsule.

To evaluate the survival of our probiotics, we use a Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME®)—the closest system developed to model digestion and the gut. It recreates the physiological conditions and biological processes (food uptake, peristalsis, digestive enzymes, pancreatic and bile acids, and time spent in each step) representative of the human gastrointestinal tract.


The ViaCap™ delivered a maximal release of probiotics—approaching the full value of the starting dose (10.32 log vs 10.92 log, or about 94%), indicating viability through the end of the small intestine.

With over 50 quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) checkpoints, we monitor purity under both US and European protocols (including cGMP + HAACP) throughout the production cycle with no skip-lot testing (this means, we test each ingredient batch prior to encapsulation and each batch after manufacture).

Our process includes extensive testing to ensure we understand how our probiotic strains interact with one another, human cells, and even yeast, fungi, and antimicrobials.

Bacteria are sensitive. They must be cultured with care to ensure viability—for example, even trace amounts of moisture or light can be devastating. We optimize biofermentation conditions for pH, water activity, temperature, and 28 other factors.