Webinar preview: Gnosis by Lesaffre’s immunomodulating probiotic ingredient

03 Oct 2023 --- Consumer demand for immunity-boosting ingredients and solutions has increased significantly over the last few years as people look to maximize their health and immunity potential. As the trend continues, probiotics have taken center stage and Gnosis by Lesaffre states that its LifeinU BSCU1 probiotic strain emerges as an essential ingredient for supplement suppliers.

Ahead of the company’s upcoming webinar titled, “LifeinU® BSCU1 beyond immunity: Discover the new clinical validation on immunomodulation,” on October 5 (17:00 CEST), Nutrition Insight sits down with Emilie Puppinck, the company’s senior product manager for biotics and Florian Mourey, the substantiation plan manager, to discuss the results of a recent clinical study on its B. subtilis CU1 probiotic offering.

“Thanks to the new clinical study, the first results show that LifeinU BSCU1 supplementation may reduce low-grade inflammation and might help to boost the immune system in elderly subjects,” she says.

“The objectives of the new clinical study was to investigate the effects of LifeinU BSCU1 on different functions of the immune system in adults and the elderly to gain insight into the most likely mechanism of action by which BSCU1 may modulate the immune system and contribute to protection against infection.”

Staying on trend
Innova Market Insights’ data suggest that the use of immunity support claims in supplement and sports nutrition product launches increased 13% globally from 2022 to 2023.

Additionally, Innova data suggests that probiotic supplement launches also increased during the same time frame and immune health made up 43% of claims in the category.

Speaking to these trends, Gnosis by Lesaffre’s LifeinU BSCU1 probiotic ingredient has already been shown to potentially reduce the frequency of respiratory tract infections, as well as potentially reduce the number of days of an infectious episode.

According to Emilie Puppinck, the new study has found additional immune biomarkers positively affected by LifeinU BSCU1 supplementation.

“LifeinU BSCU1 (B. subtilis CU1) has been shown effective in stimulating immune responses in elderly subjects,” she explains. “Furthermore, supplementation with LifeinU BSCU1 does not trigger basal inflammation but may prepare cells to respond better to an inflammatory challenge for this population.”

Focus on stability
Another main focus of the webinar will be the probiotic ingredients’ stability. Julie Lemahieu, global market manager at Gnosis by Lesaffre, previously told Nutrition Insight that the stability and duration of probiotics are significantly affected by factors like temperature, humidity and water activity. Lemahieu further underscores that a majority of probiotic strains struggle to withstand the rigors of industrial processes and challenging environmental conditions. 

She emphasizes that probiotics characterized by greater resistance, including sporulated bacteria and probiotic yeasts, open doors to novel applications and markets. These resilient strains offer effective solutions to the technological hurdles associated with processing and shelf life extension.

Emilie Puppinck further reveals that B. subtilis CU1 has those same shelf life-extending properties.

“LifeinU BSCU1 is a spore-forming bacteria,” She  concludes. “It has the capacity to form spores that are a metabolically dormant yet resilient cell type.”

“This form, like a coat, confers to LifeinU BSCU1 a natural encapsulation. Its strong stability enables it to survive in industrial processes.”

By William Bradford Nichols