Omya tackles probiotic instability and performance with mineral solution

04 May 2021 --- Omya has developed a mineral solution that gives probiotics greater stability, performance and survival rates – both during formulation and delivery to the gut. 

The solution, which is now being commercialized, is touted as “paving the way” for new expertise in probiotic production, supply chain and usage.

“It is based on functionalized calcium carbonate technology. It enhances the probiotic survival throughout the entire value chain due to specific mineral composition, such as high thermal conductivity, hygroscopic nature and basic surface pH,” innovation manager Lalit Sharma tells NutritionInsight.

“Our new functionalized mineral offers lots of possibilities for probiotic formulations and positionings,” says Stefan Lander, vice president of consumer goods, group sales and marketing at Omya.

The microorganisms in probiotic supplements are extremely sensitive. If exposed to excess moisture or heat, such as during spray drying, they may be damaged and lose their beneficial qualities. This means that a stabilizing agent is essential. 

With its strong water-binding properties and significant buffering capacity, the functionalized mineral from Omya is positioned as a promising inorganic probiotic carrier.The new product solution was shown to be an effective stabilizing agent during spray drying, shelf-life and in-vitro digestion.

Outperforming maltodextrin
Omya has teamed up with contract research company Nizo to study the mineral’s influence on probiotic viability during production and delivery processes.

They used Lactobacillus plantarum (strain WCFS1) – one of the most studied probiotics – as a model organism. Sharma expects other strains to behave similarly.

The lactobacilli cultures were mixed with either maltodextrin or Omya’s mineral solution and spray dried to evaluate their survival rates. 

To assess the efficiency of the stabilizers during digestion and accelerated shelf-life experiments, the resulting powders were separately blended with skim milk powder or pressed into tablets with lactose as an excipient. 

A representative in-vitro digestion model demonstrated a proof-of-principle.

Omya’s mineral solution outperformed maltodextrin in both matrices – milk powder and lactose tablets – delivering up to 1,000 times the amount of probiotic bacteria. 

In line with the digestion results, the functionalized mineral also showed significantly better stabilizing effects in the milk formulation and lactose tablets compared to maltodextrin.

Rising probiotic awareness
This innovation comes at a time when probiotics are the topic of great interest from consumers, scientists and industry alike. 

“Public awareness of gut health and its importance for well-being and immune health is growing. Furthermore, interest in supporting the immune system has increased massively, particularly in light of the pandemic. More and more people want to support their intestinal flora with probiotics,” explains Lander.

According to Innova Market Insights, probiotic supplement launches have seen a CAGR of 31 percent between 2016 and 2020. The top positionings are Digestive/Liver Health and Immune Health. 

Industry has been keen to find ways to stabilize probiotics, with freeze-drying a popular solution. European Freeze Dry recently shared how the technique can ensure better viability of cultured foods in the nutrition and food industries.

Meanwhile, Cosmax NBT uses Zeta probiotics technology to preserve freeze-dried probiotics.

Edited by Katherine Durrell