By Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN

The Remarkable Journey of Dr. Iichiroh Ohhira: From Architecture to Microbiology

Iichiroh Ohhira possessed a profound reverence for the natural world. Early in his life, this deep connection found expression through architecture. His designs were celebrated for their harmony with nature—structures that did not merely exist within their surroundings but belonged to them, reflecting the balance and quiet beauty of the natural environment.

In 1976, Ohhira was invited to Malaysia to design Freedom Park in the city of Kota Kinabalu. The project embodied his artistic philosophy, featuring flowing water elements, contemplative sitting areas, and meditative spaces designed to evoke tranquility. When the park opened, its serene beauty captured the admiration of both the public and local dignitaries.

Five years later, in September 1981, Ohhira returned to Malaysia for the park’s grand opening ceremony, where he received an award from the Sultan of Sabah in recognition of his visionary design. Yet, this celebratory occasion marked the beginning of an unexpected transformation in his life’s path.

During the festivities, Ohhira consumed tainted food and became violently ill. As fate would have it, a local shaman attending the ceremony noticed his distress and offered him a thick, black paste to swallow. To Ohhira’s astonishment, his nausea and vomiting ceased almost immediately. The rapid recovery seemed miraculous, and his innate curiosity compelled him to learn more about the mysterious remedy.

Upon returning to Japan, Ohhira took samples of the substance for further study. He discovered that the “miracle paste” had been created through a natural fermentation process using locally grown Malaysian fruits and vegetables. Captivated by this discovery, he began to study fermentation as an amateur scientist. Yet, the more he explored, the more he realized the limits of his understanding. At the age of 49, he made a bold and life-changing decision: to leave behind a successful architectural career and return to academia. Enrolling at Okayama University, he pursued advanced research in microbiology, focusing on lactic acid bacteria and fermentation. In 1990, he earned his Ph.D.—the beginning of a second, extraordinary career.

It is remarkable how the quiet turns of fate can redirect the course of a life. Had Ohhira not traveled to Malaysia, fallen ill, or met that shaman, the world might never have known Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®. His scientific curiosity, rooted in humility and wonder, transformed an ancient traditional remedy into a modern breakthrough in microbiome health.

From Metchnikoff to Modern Microbiology

Dr. Ohhira’s work built upon the foundation laid by Elie Metchnikoff, the Nobel Laureate regarded as the Father of Probiotics. In the early 1900s, Metchnikoff observed that people in Bulgaria who regularly consumed fermented dairy products lived longer, healthier lives. He theorized that lactic acid–producing bacteria in these foods were responsible for their vitality—a revolutionary concept at the time. His 1907 book, The Prolongation of Life, provided the first scientific explanation of how beneficial bacteria could support health and longevity.

Dr. Ohhira, inspired by Metchnikoff’s pioneering research, realized that fermentation was not merely a process of preservation but a dynamic biological transformation. Different strains of bacteria, he recognized, produce different metabolites—bioactive compounds that can influence human health in profound ways. Guided by this understanding, he selected 13 distinct strains of probiotic bacteria to form the foundation of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®.

The Symphony of Fermentation

Dr. Ohhira understood that, like all living organisms, probiotic bacteria thrive when nourished with the right environment. To cultivate vitality and diversity, he provided his bacterial strains with a rich blend of vegetables, fruits, herbs, mushrooms, and seaweeds. These fiber-rich foods supplied an abundance of prebiotics—nutrients that sustain beneficial microbes and promote a healthy microbiome. Over a multi-year fermentation process, this environment gave rise to a vibrant community of bacteria producing a complex array of beneficial compounds.

The guiding principle was simple yet profound:
Good Bacteria + Good Food = A Healthy Microbiome.

This holistic philosophy—combining scientific rigor with respect for nature—became known as The Dr. Ohhira Difference™.

The Mozart Effect:

Beyond the science, Dr. Ohhira brought a spiritual dimension to his work. A former Buddhist monk, he believed that all living things respond to vibrational energy. Convinced that certain sounds could enhance vitality, he played Mozart and other classical music throughout the fermentation process. This unique practice symbolized his belief that harmony—in sound, in biology, and in spirit—is essential to life and health.

The Power of Postbiotic Metabolites

Perhaps Dr. Ohhira’s most profound insight was his understanding of what are now called postbiotic metabolites—the biologically active compounds created by probiotic bacteria during fermentation. These compounds include organic acids, antioxidants, peptides, and other molecules that regulate critical functions such as digestion, detoxification, immune balance, inflammation control, and even communication between the gut and brain.

As Dr. Emeran Mayer explains in The Mind-Gut Connection, the bacteria in our intestines transform food into hundreds of thousands of metabolites, each influencing our health in unique ways. Decades before the term postbiotic became common, Dr. Ohhira recognized that the true benefits of probiotics lie not only in the bacteria themselves but in the remarkable substances they create during fermentation.

A Living, Fermented Food for Modern Health

Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® are not merely capsules filled with bacteria—they are the result of a living, natural fermentation process. Each capsule contains a complete ecosystem of probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics, offering a holistic approach to gut health and overall well-being.

For those suffering from dysbiosis or digestive imbalance, this triad—bacteria, food, and metabolites—creates what Dr. Ohhira called a Complete Microbiome System, designed for Rapid Microbiome Repair. It restores balance by providing living bacteria to repopulate the gut, prebiotic nutrients to sustain them, and postbiotic metabolites to immediately support intestinal and systemic health.

Through his visionary blending of science, nature, and spirituality, Dr. Iichiroh Ohhira created more than a probiotic supplement. He created a philosophy of health rooted in harmony—between body and mind, science and nature, microbe and human.

This, truly, is The Dr. Ohhira Difference™.

As cooler months approach, many of us look for natural ways to support our immune systems. Dr. Ohhira’s Propolis PLUS® offers a unique blend of ingredients inspired by nature’s own defense mechanisms—formulated to help you stay well throughout the season and beyond.

What Is Propolis—and Why Does It Matter?

Propolis is a remarkable substance created by honeybees. When bees collect resins from trees and plants—materials that plants produce to protect themselves—they mix them with beeswax and enzymes to form propolis. This sticky compound is then used to coat the inside of the hive, helping shield the colony from environmental threats.

These plant resins are rich in naturally occurring compounds with antioxidant and natural microbial balancing properties. In essence, propolis serves as the hive’s immune system—just as resins protect plants, and bees use propolis to protect their home.

Brazilian Green Propolis: A Rare and Potent Form

Not all propolis is created equal. Dr. Ohhira’s Propolis PLUS® features Brazilian Green Propolis, sourced from the lush Amazon region. This particular variety is known for its unique chemical composition and has been studied for its antioxidant and inflammatory response supporting potential.

While human clinical trials are ongoing, animal studies suggest that Brazilian Green Propolis may help support both innate and adaptive immune responses. Its naturally occurring compounds make it a powerful addition to any wellness routine.

A Synergistic Formula for Whole-Body Support

Dr. Ohhira’s Propolis PLUS® combines Brazilian Green Propolis with three other key ingredients that work together to support immune, digestive, and cardiovascular health:

• Astaxanthin – Known as the “King of Carotenoids,” astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant that also supports joint comfort and cellular health.
• Flaxseed Oil – A source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support a healthy inflammatory response and support heart and immune function.
• Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Extract – Contains postbiotic metabolites that promote digestive balance and overall wellness.

Together, these ingredients offer a comprehensive approach to immune support—without relying on synthetic additives or harsh ingredients.

Why Gut Health Matters for Immunity

Did you know that up to 80% of your immune cells reside in your digestive tract? That’s why probiotics play such a vital role in immune function. A balanced gut microbiome helps your body respond to everyday challenges and support overall resilience.

Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® are fermented for three years using a traditional Japanese method, resulting in a rich blend of beneficial bacteria and postbiotic compounds. These probiotics help support digestive harmony, which in turn supports immune health.

Bonus Support: Reg’Activ® Immune & Vitality

For those looking to further support their immune system, Reg’Activ® Immune & Vitality offers a complementary option. It features Lactobacillus fermentum ME-3, a patented probiotic strain that helps the body produce glutathione—a powerful antioxidant known for its role in detoxification and immune regulation.

Glutathione supports the function of lymphocytes, the white blood cells that help your body respond to environmental stressors. Maintaining healthy glutathione levels is associated with better immune resilience and overall vitality.

Why Customers Love Propolis PLUS®

Dr. Ohhira’s Propolis PLUS® is more than just a seasonal supplement—it’s a daily ally for immune, digestive, and cardiovascular wellness. Customers appreciate its:

• Thoughtful, nature-inspired formulation
• High-quality ingredients sourced from trusted ecosystems
• Synergistic support for multiple systems in the body
• Clean, additive-free approach to wellness

Whether you’re preparing for the winter season or simply looking to strengthen your daily wellness routine, Dr. Ohhira’s Propolis PLUS® offers a powerful way to support your body—naturally.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Postbiotic metabolites is a term that refers to the vast array of compounds that are produced by the metabolic activity of your probiotic bacteria. These probiotic-produced postbiotic compounds play extremely important roles in the regulation of health and in the maintenance of a healthy microbiome. 

This article will explain the many functions of postbiotic metabolites, how they get produced, the health problems associated with the under-production of postbiotic metabolites, and how to correct this problem.

Over 99% of the bacteria in the intestinal tract reside in the colon. Hence, the colon is the primary site of the gut microbiome. In his book The Mind-Gut Connection, Dr. Emirian Mayer states that “the bacteria in your microbiome transform the food you eat into “hundreds of thousands of metabolites.” Recent estimates suggest that the gut microbiome in healthy individuals consists of 3,000 to 5,000 species of bacteria totaling approximately 100 trillion bacteria. Various bacterial species possess unique DNA sequences, allowing them to generate distinct postbiotic metabolites. It is now understood that the health benefits often attributed to probiotic bacteria are actually due to the postbiotic metabolites the bacteria produce rather than from the bacteria themselves.  

Prebiotics, Probiotics & Postbiotics: To have a healthy gut microbiome, you MUST feed your probiotic bacteria well. Different species of probiotic bacteria require different kinds of foods. The components in food that nourish probiotic bacteria are dietary fibers and polyphenols. The richest source of probiotic-friendly fibers and polyphenols are multicolored fruits and vegetables. Consuming a diet that contains a wide range of different fiber and polyphenol-rich foods is essential for the development of a healthy microbiome with a diverse population of probiotic bacteria.

In July 2022 my article titled The Malnourished Microbiome: American’s #1 Nutritional Deficiency was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Integrative Medicine.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35999904/

This article emphasizes the critical role that postbiotic metabolites play in regulating many aspects of health. This article also emphasizes that a diverse diet is required to support the growth of a diverse population of probiotic bacteria so that they can produce a diverse range of health-regulating postbiotic metabolites. IT ALL DEPENDS ON DIET…!!

Every time you eat, you are hosting a very large party; you are feeding 100 trillion guests—the probiotic bacteria in your gut microbiome. Unfortunately, most people do not consume a diet that promotes a healthy microbiome. Here are results from a some recently published studies:

• 87.8% of U.S. adults do not consume enough fruits
• 90% of U.S. adults do not consume enough vegetables

A recent survey of 50,000 commonly purchased foods in U.S. grocery stores reported the following:

• 73% of U.S. food supply is ultra-processed food (UPF)
• On average, Ultra-Processed Foods are 52% less expensive than healthier alternatives 

Here’s another disturbing fact: in 2024, there were 213,155 fast food restaurants in the U.S. That’s an average of 4,283 fast food restaurants in every state in the United States. Americans are eating themselves into bad health. Bad diets create dysbiosis or bacterial imbalance. This results in gut inflammation, which damages the gut lining and allows harmful substances such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to pass into systemic circulation. This causes chronic inflammation throughout the body, which accelerates biological aging.

Over 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates is credited with saying, “All disease begins in the gut.” Hippocrates was right, bacterial imbalance and gut dysbiosis are a primary cause of chronic, age-related diseases.

The Oral Probiotic Dilemma: There are several reasons why orally ingested probiotics alone are often not very effective. First, stomach acid is over 10,000 times stronger than the acidity in the small intestine and the colon. Most orally ingested probiotic bacteria will be destroyed when they are exposed to stomach acid. 

Another key issue is the availability of the right kinds of food for probiotic bacteria. If probiotics survive transit through the stomach, when they arrive in the colon, they need to access dietary fibers and polyphenols and begin the process of converting them into postbiotic metabolites. However, the colon in many people is like a food desert, which is a term that describes an urban area where it is difficult of find or buy good-quality fresh food. 

Taking high-dose probiotics with billions of bacteria per dose (high CFUs), is like sending thousands of soldiers into battle with no food supply. They will quickly become hungry, become increasingly unable to perform their duties and if food is not supplied, they will starve. As detailed above, most Americans do not consume a diet that supports a healthy gut microbiome. When high-dose probiotics are ingested, most of the bacteria will be killed by stomach acid, or if they reach the colon, they will likely starve due to a lack of food (dietary fibers & polyphenols).

Most probiotic supplements just contain a high dose of one or several strains of probiotic bacteria. As discussed previously, several factors inhibit orally ingested probiotics from being effective. However, the multi-year fermentation process utilized in the production of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics allows the bacteria to spend three years (Original Formula) to five years (Professional Formula) fermenting the food they are provided with, which results in the production of over 500 postbiotic metabolites. Thus, when Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics are encapsulated, you get probiotics, prebiotics AND postbiotics.

Regulating the Microbiome Ecosystem

Temperature is a critical regulator of the ecosystem for the health of plants, animals and humans on Earth. In the gut microbiome, the level of acidity (the acid/base balance) it the critical regulator of the ecosystem. The optimal level acidity for the microbiome is from pH 6.2 to 6.8, which is weakly acidic. This weakly acidic pH is optimal for promoting the growth and proliferation of probiotic bacteria and it inhibits the growth of pathogens. Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics contain over 100 weakly acidic postbiotic metabolites. This is one of the most powerful attributes of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics, which explains why it is so successful at restoring health in the gut microbiome. 

Here’s another analogy. Visualize a large section of the Amazon rainforest that has been clearcut by loggers. Hundreds of acres of trees lying horizontally, felled by chainsaws. You cannot fix this damaged ecosystem by just putting the inhabitants back into the damaged ecosystem. If you put the ants, bees, snakes, butterflies, and monkeys back into this damaged ecosystem, the animals won’t survive, and it won’t cause the trees to regrow.

It is similar in the gut microbiome. Gut dysbiosis is caused by too many bad bacteria. This results in gut inflammation, which damages the lining of the intestinal tract and allows intestinal permeability to happen. Just taking high-dose probiotics won’t fix this damaged ecosystem. Postbiotic metabolites function in numerous ways to repair and heal a damaged microbiome ecosystem. Taking Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics delivers over 500 postbiotic metabolites, that helps to repair and/or maintain a healthy gut microbiome. Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics helps improve your gut microbiome ecosystem, which then enables your innate probiotic bacteria to flourish and produce postbiotic metabolites.

Postbiotics: It Takes More Than Probiotic Bacteria to Create A Healthy Microbiome

Postbiotic compounds are the key regulators of gastrointestinal health and health throughout the rest of your body. Here are some of the known functions of various kinds of postbiotic metabolites:

1. Many postbiotics are weakly acidic compounds that regulate the level of acidity in the microbiome. Examples include short-chain fatty acids (SCFAS), amino acids, nucleic acids, organic acids and fulvic acids. These compounds are an important part of the immune system because maintaining the optimal acid/base balance in the GI track promote the growth of beneficial probiotic bacteria and suppresses the growth of pathogens.
2. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are metabolites that are also an important part of the immune system. AMPs are natural antibiotics that kill or suppress the growth of bad bacteria.
3. Many postbiotic metabolites exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.
4. Butyrate is a postbiotic that accelerates healing to the gut lining. It is the primary energy source for growth of healthy new epithelial cells.
5. We used to think we got all of our nutrition from the foods we eat. Now we’ve learned that numerous species of probiotic bacteria produce some of our essential nutrients including the all the B-vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folic acid), vitamin K and several essential amino acids. 
6. It is estimated that from 70-80% of immune cells in the body are located in the gut. Many postbiotic metabolites help regulate your immune system.
7. Hydrogen peroxide, which helps suppress the growth of candida and other yeasts
8. Biodetoxification is one of the protective properties of some postbiotic metabolites; they bind to and help eliminate various toxins.
9. Postbiotic metabolites help improve overall intestinal function and elimination.
10. 10. Some postbiotic metabolites are important neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin and acetylcholine. These gut-derived neurotransmitters help  communicate with the brain via the gut-brain axis and help regulate mood, emotions and anxiety.
11. Numerous postbiotic metabolites function as antioxidants.

And, experts estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of postbiotic compounds that have yet to be discovered. 

Fourteen different organically grown foods (Japanese fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and seaweeds) are utilized in the multi-year fermentation process to produce Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics. Thus, Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics receive a more diverse diet of fiber and polyphenol-rich foods than the diets that most humans provide the bacteria in their intestinal tract. Also, Dr. Ohhira’s multi-year fermentation process results in the production of far greater amounts of the critical health-regulating postbiotic metabolites than most humans produce in their gut microbiome.

The Importance of Postbiotic Metabolites

At Essential Formulas, we are NOT suggesting that postbiotic metabolites be recommended to treat any diseases. Instead, we suggest that postbiotic metabolites play a critical role in creating and maintaining good health, which helps to prevent illnesses from developing. In an article that was published in the Journal of Immunology in Oct. 2021, author Cathryn Nagler stated the following, “It is now clear that the depletion of microbial metabolites beneficial to host health is associated with a rapid rise in non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCDs). Thus, it is increasingly clear that most chronic, age-related diseases are now linked to gut dysbiosis.

Rapid Microbiome Restoration

The information discussed in this article emphasizes how important it is to create and maintain a healthy gut microbiome ecosystem so that your probiotic bacteria can thrive and produce postbiotic metabolites. In addition to probiotics and prebiotics, Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics delivers over 500 postbiotic metabolites, which help to normalize the gut microbiome environment. At Essential Formulas, we say Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics deliver A Complete Microbiome System (probiotics, prebiotics & postbiotic metabolites), which accelerates Rapid Microbiome Restoration.* This is the Dr. Ohhira’s Advantage…!!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.