Patent ID: 8597638

Claim:
A method of preparing a zinc-enriched biomass, the method comprising: (i) culturing micro-organisms selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus ST 16 BM, deposited under the Budapest Treaty at the DSMZ, Braunschweig, Germany, under the accession number DSM 19526 on Jul. 13, 2007, and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB 1 BM, deposited under the Budapest Treaty at the DSMZ, Braunschweig, Germany, under the accession number DSM 17850 on Dec. 23, 2005, and combinations thereof, in a nutrient culture medium comprising a zinc salt in a concentration of between 5 to 50 mM, to obtain zinc-enriched micro-organisms; and (ii) separating the zinc-enriched micro-organisms from the culture medium.