Enteric polymer coated capsule containing dried bacterial culture for supplying lactase

A method of preparing a lactase-containing preparation suitable for use by mammals having acquired lactase deficiency comprising the steps of:

• a) mixing a dried bacterial culture containing lactase with an amount of a desiccant sufficient to stabilize water content of the dried bacterial culture to produce a stabilized dried bacterial culture;
• b) encapsulating a unit dosage amount having a bacterial colony count of at least 250,000 of the stabilized dried bacterial culture produced in step a) in a human or animal ingestible capsule to obtain an encapsulated stabilized dried bacterial culture;
• and
• c) sealing the encapsulated stabilized dried bacterial culture from step b) with a polymeric enteric coating to produce an enteric coated encapsulated stabilized dried bacterial culture;
• and
• d) treating the enteric coated encapsulated stabilized dried bacterial culture from step c) under a vacuum pressure for a time sufficient to substantially remove oxygen and moisture therefrom and provide desired lactase activity for at least about 10 hours after ingestion.