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Are human strain probiotics halal? My daughter has asthma and eczema and there is a product I want to try (HMF Child Probiotic Supplement), but I would like to know if it is permissible?

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Probiotics are microorganisms that basically keep your gut working properly. Despite the name, "human-strain" probiotics don't actually involve humans or human byproducts as ingredients, they're just particular species of microorganisms that naturally (or exclusively) reside in human hosts already.

Regardless of the source of the original culture, probiotics are subsequently cultivated in sterile conditions and are countless generations removed from ever having been in contact with anything human.

Given that bacteria and such microorganisms don't fall under the general rulings of Islamic slaughter, or ever come into contact with anything that would fall under the general rulings of Islamic slaughter, I see no reason at all to consider that these may be haram.

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  • I don't think this answers the original question of if human strain or in other words human origin probiotics are halal. The link explains how some of the bacteria could've been been originated from humans. No matter, how many generations pass, after all they're reproduced from human strains. How do you explain this?
    – servant-of-Wiser
    Jan 12, 2018 at 4:24
  • @servant-of-Wiser What do you need explained? They're bacteria, not humans. Islam plain doesn't have rules of slaughter for bacteria.
    – goldPseudo ♦
    Jan 12, 2018 at 4:41
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Human strain bacteria are extracted from humans' faeces or the vagina while animal strain bacteria are from the faeces of various animals such as chickens. I do not see how they can be halal. (Human/animal source bacteria are present in almost all probiotic supplements as well as the 'good' bacteria added to lots of products and 'live' yogurt etc.)

Some might be 'generations removed' from the original sample of bacteria, but faeces/the vagina are the original source nonetheless.

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    Why would being so-sourced render them haram though? The basic principle of istihlak would seem to apply here; if the current samples are so far removed from the original that there is no detectable trace of feces (even assuming that is their original source), then there would no longer be any reason to consider them haram.
    – goldPseudo ♦
    Jan 20, 2015 at 20:03

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