A new lactic acid product, designed to aid digestion and preventing gastric diseases has appeared at pharmacies in Vanadzor early this month.

Created by local milk and dairy engineer-technologist Hamlet Hakobyan, a new product called “Bifilact”, is a food supplement rich in pro-biotic bacteria. Besides easing digestion it prevents minor gastric discomforts and protects against some infections.

Cow’s milk provides the foundation for Bifilact. The milk, after being fat-removed, is enriched by bacteria called Bifidobacterium. As a result, a mass occurs, like yogurt. Bifilact is similar to “Narine”, a product that is a staple of Armenian medicine cabinets and has been produced here since Soviet times. Hakobyan explains that the difference between his new product and the long-tested and popular Narine, is that Narine contains bacteria called Acidophilic, while Bifilact, besides Acidophilic contains Bifidobacterium. Both bacteria are adopted better to the human organism than the cow milk, that's why these products are popular worldwide in dietary and clinical nutrition.

In preparation to make and market the product Hakobyan studied Japanese, Canadian, and European practices in of the production of food enriched with biological additives.

“It’s high time for Armenia to develop that sphere,” says Hakobyan, who took a loan to launch the productions. Hakobyan says Bifilact was put on sale after the appropriate laboratory tests. Currently six people work on getting ‘Bifilact’ in Vanadzor and producer hopes that their number will increase by the rise in ‘Bifilact’ volumes.

The production currently turns out about 20-100 doses per day (at 200 grams), selling for about 70 cents – about the same as Narine.

“We sold 15 (doses) during two days,” said the clerk of one of the pharmacies, adding that she was surprised how fast the new product was consumed. She said doctors were recommending it to their patients.

Svetlana Mesropyan, pediatrician from Vanadzor, believes that this type of food is necessary to eat every day, yet not permanently.

“It is necessary to take it for 2-3 months, prescribed by a doctor,” says the pediatrician, who thinks that the new product’s role in healing intestinal infectious diseases is great; besides, it is good for digestion for people of all ages. ( Like Narine, Bifilact also can be used without doctor's prescription.)

Doctor Karen Adamyan states that the food materials containing Bifidobacterium prevent not only diseases, but also they regulate digestion, and raise the resistibility of a human body.

“Over years a human body is being contacted with the external environment and it absorbs various types of harmful microbes, whereas the bacterium called Bifidobacterium, which has protective importance, is lacking in a body,” says Hakobyan.

Because of the lack of Bifidobacterium a person becomes vulnerable towards different diseases; and food, with biological additions, helps a person evade those.

Six workers are producing Bifilact, and are planning to not only enlarge the production and its geography, but also to produce liquid Bifilact filled with fruit tastes.