With the expansion of the probiotic market centered on lactic acid bacteria, various types of lactic acid bacteria are found in the market. Until the early 2000s, the development and release of the products mainly were focused on live bacteria, but now research on materials and cell components from probiotics are accelerated. In 2012, the market for lactic acid bacteria other than live ones in Japan exceeded 25% of live lactic acid bacteria market. In Korea, heat–killed probiotics are utilized not only in the food industry and pharmaceuticals but also in animal feed and cosmetics. Currently, abuse of the use of live probiotics have increased the incidence of side effects, and in serious cases leaded to death. This is the reason why “dead probiotics” that can be ingested safely in sufficient amount are attracting attention. Therefore, it is necessary for pharmacists to take a quick review and apply the drug since it is already widely applied in general food, health functional food, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, and cosmetics.

Keywords: Heat-killed probiotics, Lactic acid bacteria, High-dose probiotics, Immuno-modulation, Health functional food