Tate & Lyle funds new tool refining synbiotic pairings of prebiotics and probiotics

A new peer-reviewed study introduces a new tool, designed to help researchers better understand how specific probiotic strains interact with different prebiotic fibers. The Synbiotic Potential Score focuses on the gut health benefits, quality, and speed of development of synbiotic innovation within the food, beverage, and supplement industries. 

UK-based ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle and Research Ireland funded the research, which was led by the research center APC Microbiome Ireland at University College Cork.

The study was based on two of Tate & Lyle’s recently NutraStrong-certified prebiotic fibers: Euoligo FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides) and corn-based Promitor Soluble Fibre — which it screened for synbiotic potential.

“As interest in gut health continues to grow, there is increasing demand for more targeted and evidence-based synbiotic products,” says Dr. Harriët Schellekens, group leader at APC Microbiome Ireland.

“The Synbiotic Potential Score provides researchers with a practical way to compare how different probiotic strains respond to specific fibers and identify promising combinations earlier in the development process.”

Refining synbiotic pairings

Published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, the paper introduces the Synbiotic Potential Score, designed to support fiber innovations with more efficiency.

Tate & Lyle says this reduces the time and resources that often go into a trial-and-error-based approach, accelerating commercial applications.

Tate & Lyle highlights growing interest in synbiotics, which combine prebiotics and probiotics to amplify health benefits beyond using either alone.Using the Synbiotic Potential Score framework, scientists screened eight probiotic strains and how they grew across a range of well-recognized prebiotic ingredients. These included Tate & Lyle’s Euligo FOS and Promitor Soluble Fiber at various fiber contents.

The findings reveal that various probiotic strains respond differently to specific prebiotic fibers, indicating that a more targeted approach to pairing a probiotic with the most complementary prebiotic fibers may unlock greater health benefits for consumers.

These differences were true whether the screened prebiotics were tested individually or in combination, shifting industry focus away from a one-size-fits-all approach to combining prebiotics and probiotics.

“Understanding how specific prebiotic fibers perform with different probiotic strains is central to developing synbiotic products that deliver better gut health,” stresses Dr. Clare Leonard, VP of Nutrition and Health Science at Tate & Lyle.

“This research is exciting, as it gives the industry a more rigorous way to make those connections earlier in the development process.”

Tate & Lyle contributed its scientific expertise and supplied prebiotic ingredients for the study.

Next-gen synbiotic formulas

Tate & Lyle highlights that synbiotics, combinations of probiotics and prebiotic fibers, are attracting growing interest as they amplify the potential health benefits of ingredients compared to pre- or probiotics used alone.

While the study authors note that further clinical and functional validation remains important, Tate & Lyle says the new framework offers a scalable approach for early-stage screening. This could further help streamline future synbiotic research and development.

In recent clinical research in the field, biotech company Sōlaria Biō published findings supporting the gut delivery and efficacy of two of its synbiotic products targeting the gut-bone axis. The first is SBD111, marketed as Bōndia, which is the company’s plant-sourced synbiotic proven to improve bone density in women with osteopenia by 85%. The second is a synbiotic formulation still under development, SBD121, specifically designed for the dietary management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Another scientific paper detailed how pairing probiotics with prebiotic fiber and vitamins is more effective than supplementing with single prebiotics or vitamins alone for immune and metabolic health. University of Nottingham, UK, authors demonstrated how a synbiotic — a blend of fermented kefir and a diverse prebiotic fiber mix — offers potent anti-inflammatory effects compared to other common dietary supplements.