ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,539,318, issued on Feb. 3, was assigned to K & K Ventures LLC (Cheyenne, Wyo.).

"Non-caloric probiotic composition and method of preparation" was invented by Dale M. Kriz (Phoenix) and Kiran Krishnan (Bolingbrook, Ill.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A probiotic composition comprising at least one viable probiotic microorganism having a biological or therapeutic activity in the gastrointestinal tract and a carrier suitable for human consumption is disclosed. The probiotic composition may contain drinking water and electrolytes and the probiotic microorganism may be spores of a probiotic microorganism. Also provided are methods of treating ...