Yakult (ヤクルト Yakuruto) is a yoghurt-like beverage made by fermenting a mixture of skim milk and sugar with a special strain of the bacteria Lactobacillus casei. Because L. casei is naturally found in the digestive system, Yakult is touted as beneficial for intestinal health. It has a natural citrus flavor.
The name is derived from Jahurto, which is Esperanto for "yoghurt."
Yakult was invented by Kyoto University pediatrics professor Shirota Minoru in 1930. In 1955, he founded the Yakult Corporation to market his beverage. Since then, Yakult has also introduced a line of beverages for the Japanese market that contain Bifidobacterium breve bacteria, and has also used its lactobacilli research to develop cosmetics. More recently, the Yakult Corporation played a major role in developing the cancer drug Camptosar (CPT-11 ).
Yakult also owns one of Japan's major baseball francises, the Yakult Swallows.
Today, Yakult is manufactured and sold in Japan, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, although its bacteria cultures are still imported from a mother strain in Japan regardless of production location.
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