Microbiome solutions: A key theme at Vitafoods Europe 2018

24 May 2018 --- Research into the microbiome – the aggregated microbial species in our body – is gaining increasing attention and investment. Although the term is often associated with digestive health, the body, in fact, contains multiple microbiome. This is currently spurring on research and innovation in areas as wide-ranging as women’s health, weight management, immunity and skin health. At Vitafoods Europe 2018, NutritionInsight spoke with suppliers about their efforts and innovations in the microbiome space, using pre or probiotics for gut health and beyond.

DuPont
At the event, DuPont highlighted new opportunities to add documented health benefits to their products with Howaru Protect: a range of patented probiotic products to help maintain natural immune defenses for targeted populations and lifestyle situations.

“At DuPont we have a probiotic product called Howaru Protect Senior. We recently published a meta-analysis where we researched how this strain affects the cellular immune health of healthy seniors. In this meta-analysis, we pooled data from four clinical trials. The results were that it was highly efficacious in enhancing the key immune cells fighting against bacterial and viral infections,” Liisa Lehtoranta, Research Manager at DuPont Nutrition & Health, tells NutritionInsight.

Regarding applications, the Howaru Protect Senior probiotic product will take form in delivery formats most suitable for senior populations: “powder formats are a good way to administer probiotics for seniors as they can be added easily to yogurt, drinks or juice,” adds Lehtoranta. 

For DuPont, probiotics bring “unlimited possibilities,” and the expanding market is not expected to slow down, Lehtoranta explains.

Lesaffre Human Care
“At Vitafoods we would like to highlight a specific strain of bacteria, which is called BSCU1 Bacillus Subtilis. This strain is highly interesting because we have done a clinical trial to prove that it can boost the immune system,” Elodie Ruffin, Probiotics Marketing Manager at Lesaffre Human Care, tells NutritionInsight.

“Another advantageous thing about this bacteria compared to other bacterium is that it is highly stable and so it can be added to food and beverage formulations. So, it’s a good way for the industry to launch healthier types of products to meet the consumer expectations. This is a really trendy area, so the expectations are big,” she notes.

“The clinical trial we have conducted shows the benefit for the immune system. There are big expectations from the consumer expecting immune health and digestive health mainly. With this product, we meet one of the main expectations in food.”

“This product added to food and beverage formulations will boost the immune system and help you to better fight infections every day and to stay healthy.”

“We developed a chocolate for the show, as a concept. This gives an idea to the different applications that could be used. The chocolate has the right dosage of bacteria, so if you take one chocolate like this per day you will have the right amount of the probiotic to help the immune system,” says Ruffin.

“In this way, a consumer can have healthy products and products just for pleasure all combined into one product: probiotic chocolate.” 

Other highlighted products at the show included a women’s health product based on probiotics, coined Florigyn. 

“This is a new product to fight vaginal infections, not only caused by pathogenic yeast but also by bacteria,” Veronique L’Hommet, Product Manager at Lesaffre Human Care, tells NutritionInsight. “It has been clinically proven to help manage recurring infections and prevent other infections.”

The product comes in oral form and can be used in dietary supplements. It also meets a new demand in the women’s health space as women increasingly seek “safe and natural” solutions, L’Hommet adds.

“Conventional treatments use antibiotics, which can bring a lot of side effects, such as resistance. This product can be used to prevent recurrence and is a natural solution as it is a yeast,” she notes.

ADM
ADM presented a range of Biopolis specialty probiotics, designed to aid product developers and formulators looking to create health-focused products. ADM reports that its portfolio includes conventional probiotic strains supported by clinical research showing potential benefits for immune and digestive health, as well as proprietary and tailored strains and blends that are being evaluated scientifically for potential to support skin health and weight management or for use in infant and sports nutrition. 

“Having recently completed clinical trials focusing on skin health – an area where we see huge growth potential – we are looking forward to meeting with product formulators to share the results and discuss how we can effectively support them in the development of food and beverage products, dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals,” Daniel Ramón Vidal, Vice President R&D, ADM Health & Wellness tells NutritionInsight.

“Being a microbiome solutions provider means not only producing probiotics, but also having all related capabilities, such as microbiome analysis and sequencing, and all related technologies such as metabolomics as well,” he adds.

Regarding microbiome and probiotics, “[t]here are many current hot topics within the industry,” he says. “We are a science-based research company and we focus on [for example] weight management and skin disorders, concretely dermatitis and psoriasis.”