Growing Probiotics

[vlad]

I've been making kraut for a while but recently got interested in growing probiotics of human origin for additional health benefits. I usually throw a few capsules of Culturelle or Align brand probiotics into a mason jar, add honey and water, and leave it at 95 degrees. I then use Ph strips to confirm that the sugar in honey has been fermented, the acidity level drops from 6 to 4 after a few hours.

So while I'm confident that the fructose/glucose in honey has been consumed, is it possible that the bacteria did not actually grow? I know there are yeasts that are able to ferment sugars without actually multiplying in numbers, could the same be true for lactic acid bacteria? I noticed that researchers often use MRS broth for growing bacteria, and that contains much more nutrients than honey. So I wonder if using honey only gives the bacteria food to survive but not actually grow.

Thanks for any advice.