DuPont N&B launches Howaru Calm to tackle stress and support mental well-being

14 Jan 2021 --- Targeting consumer stress, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences (DuPont N&B) has launched Howaru Calm. The probiotic aims to help dietary supplement manufacturers formulate products that support relaxation.

“Stress is a common occurrence for over 65 percent of adults and that number only seems to be growing amid the current global pandemic,” Stephanie Udell, global marketing lead, DuPont N&B, tells NutritionInsight.

“Supplementing with Howaru Calm can help consumers reduce their perceived stress and manage the mind’s psychological response to stress.”

Long-term effects of stress
The company says that prolonged stress can negatively affect mood, sleep and digestive health.

Howaru Calm is a probiotic aimed at helping dietary supplement manufacturers formulate products that decrease stress and support relaxation.

Udell notes that it is established that the gut and brain communicate. The scientific understanding of the gut-brain interaction is becoming more sophisticated with advancements in laboratory techniques and animal models that investigate the influence of gut microbes on mental functions. 

“Too much stress or daily chronic stress has become more prevalent in today’s society and can seriously impact our mental and physical well-being and overall health,” says Dr. Elaine Patterson, senior R&D scientist, DuPont N&B.

“The product helps consumers target stress at the source so they can prioritize both their mental and physical health,” Patterson adds.

In much the same way as resident microbes work, probiotics can produce neurotransmitters and other neuroactive compounds, which “talk” to the immune system, impact the integrity of the gut barrier and can further indirectly influence gut-brain interactions through other metabolites.

Future clinical studies will hopefully shed more light on exactly how probiotics are working in humans, Udell explains.

“Howaru Calm is thought to work similarly, although understanding the specific mechanisms will require further studies,” she says.

Applications and target crowd
Howaru Calm can be added to existing dietary supplement products or used to create new ones. 

In addition, Howaru Calm can be formulated into food and beverage products sure to meet the increasing consumer demand for alternative probiotic formats, Udell says.

“Howaru Calm is designed for overall healthy consumers who are looking for ways to help manage daily stress. Stress is a common occurrence for 65 percent of adults who report having some level of stress in their daily lives.”

Trialing the effects
Ahead of bringing Howaru Calm to market, the product’s featured strain, L. paracasei Lpc-37, was scrupulously tested to ensure its quality, efficacy and performance, the company says.

Stress is a common occurrence for over 65 percent of adults and that number is growing amid the pandemic.During a clinical study, participants took the probiotic daily for five weeks before undergoing an acute stress test. Called the Trier Social Stress Test, it is considered the most valid and reliable laboratory protocol for inducing stress in humans in a clinical setting. 

The researchers measured participants’ mood, stress and anxiety levels in response to the five-week intervention with Lpc-37, their perceived and physiological response to the acute stress test at the end of the study, and their overall mood, health and well-being throughout the study. The results were then compared to a placebo group. 

They found that those participants taking Lpc-37 reported a significant reduction in perceived stress following five-weeks of intervention. 

“By supplementing with the key strain in Howaru Calm Lpc-37, for five weeks, the participants were able to reduce their perceived stress, balance their mood, and promote overall mental well-being and a relaxed state of mind. It’s important to remember that these effects are strain-specific,” underscores Udell.

She adds that in the last five years, the industry has seen a 34 percent global increase of new probiotic supplements that help stabilize mood and combat stress, as consumers have begun to recognize the critical impact the gut has on the brain. 

By Kristiana Lalou