Gut-brain axis: Consumers seek biotic solutions for mental acuity, mood, sleep, energy and more

08 Aug 2024 --- Consumer awareness of the link between digestive health, cognitive performance and mood — the gut-brain axis — inspires research and innovation in the biotics for brain and mental health space. Industry experts from ADM and AB-Biotics highlight current and emerging trends.

“Mental and emotional well-being are key indicators of wellness for many consumers,” Vaughn DuBow, senior director of product portfolio marketing of health and wellness at ADM, tells Nutrition Insight. “Concurrently, consumers are increasingly aware of the connection between their gut health and overall well-being. Expanding focus on the gut microbiome is driving forward innovation and product trends within different gut-organ axes, including the gut-brain axis.” 

“This demonstrates a critical shift in how today’s consumers are approaching their health and wellness, with many proactively seeking options that can support their overall well-being, including their cognitive health, with emphasis on mental acuity, mood, sleep, energy and more.”

Miquel Bonachera, co-founder of AB-Biotics adds: “More recently, this increased knowledge has expanded into better understanding of how gut health and the gut microbiota can influence cognitive function and mental health through the gut-brain axis.”

“This more educated consumer also has higher expectations, and we’re seeing greatly increased demand for more personalized solutions that address specific brain or mental health-related complaints like stress, anxiety, attention deficit or cognitive decline.”

Addressing mental health 
Discussing the trending categories of biotics for cognition that consumers are looking for, ADM’s DuBow argues that there is a growing body of evidence with preclinical and clinical trials examining prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics and how they may support various aspects of the brain and cognitive health. 

Vaughn DuBow, senior director of product portfolio marketing of health and wellness at ADM (Image credit: ADM).He notes a “strong interest” in the global demand for supplements for mood and relaxation. “Gut microbiome-supporting solutions like biotics are particularly popular.” 

Meanwhile, AB-Biotics’ Bonachera shines light on psychobiotics: “A class of probiotics that deliver mental health benefits via the gut-brain axis are one group of ingredients that address this demand and have seen a growth in interest in recent years.”

“A key focus area for us at AB-Biotics is stress and anxiety. A large proportion of the global population reports regularly feeling stressed or anxious. This has increased in recent years, with multiple societal and economic factors contributing. Both acute and chronic stress can rapidly affect the composition of the gut microbiome due to the two-way nature of the gut-brain axis, which can lead to imbalance or dysbiosis,” he details. 

“In turn, this dysbiosis has a negative impact on multiple aspects of brain health, including mood and stress reactivity, creating a vicious cycle. Due to the prevalence of stress and anxiety, it was a priority area of the gut-brain axis for us to target, which is why the probiotic strains that we chose for Mindbiome are focused on this.”

Biotic strains and formulations
DuBow asserts that ADM’s “global network of scientists, technicians and experts” is dedicated to studying the gut microbiome and adding to the company’s health and wellness portfolio with biotic strains and formulations that are clinically documented to deliver consumer benefits. 

“For example, we have examined the effects of a 14-strain probiotic supplement in two studies connected to the gut-brain axis. The first, which was published in 2022, found changes in psychological processing and measurements of low mood following the use of the supplement,” he details. 

“Then, in 2023, a study was conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London and led by ADM’s Dr. Viktoriya Nikolova. This trial related to the consumption of probiotics and showed significantly meaningful improvements in mood compared to the placebo group.”

ADM is currently studying the combination of its Bifidobacterium longum CECT7347 (ES1) with Lactobacillus rhamnosus CECT8361 (BPL15) and the effects it has on mood. 

“This mood and stress formulation has been assessed in a zebrafish model, with results pointing to significantly improved mood status compared to the control by improving swimming speed and exploratory behavior. A human clinical trial is also underway,” says DuBow. 

Research published this year in Gut Microbes reveals the potential for ES1 probiotic and heat-treated ES1 postbiotic to support stress reduction. Results from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial on 200 adults with mild-moderate IBS condition indicated a significant reduction in stress versus placebo, as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Index.

“This is a secondary outcome to the primary results showing that supplementation in both the probiotic and postbiotic groups led to a triple improvement on the IBS-Symptom Severity Scale compared to those receiving the placebo. Studies such as this highlight the gut microbiome’s interconnection with physical and mental well-being.”

Modulation of neurotransmitters
AB-Biotics gut-brain axis products highlighted by Bonachera may facilitate the production of neurotransmitters associated with improved happiness and memory.

“Mindbiome is AB-Biotics’s psychobiotic solution containing our clinically tested and validated strain Lactobacillus plantarum DR7,” he explains. “L. plantarum DR7 has been shown to induce changes in gut microbiota composition, leading to the modulation of several neurotransmitter pathways, including serotonin and dopamine.” 

ADM notes a global demand for supplements for mood and relaxation.“What’s more, L. plantarum DR7 has been shown to improve the stress response and reduce stress and anxiety scores in healthy adults. Mindbiome was specifically designed to provide stress and anxiety relief, as well as other cognitive benefits including enhanced learning, attention and memory.”

Another one of AB-Biotics’ strains, Lactobacillus brevis KABPTM 052, has demonstrated a potential to produce GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that helps to maintain a balanced neural activity, critical for cognitive functions such as memory, learning and cognitive stress. 

“At AB-Biotics, we are currently investigating this strain’s potential to support attention deficit disorders and cognitive decline in the elderly.” 

Challenges and opportunities
Bonachera highlights some of the current opportunities and challenges for products targeting the gut-brain axis and their ingredients.

“One challenge that ingredient suppliers and product formulators must always rise to is ensuring that their products are firmly backed by science. With the demand for personalized and targeted solutions rising, it is important to understand the mechanism of action of ingredients so that they can be leveraged to their full potential,” he states.

AB-Biotics’s probiotic strains are “selected to provide a targeted health benefit” based on research on phenotypic characteristics, preclinical research and randomized, well-controlled clinical trials.

“There is an exciting opportunity to innovate with formula combinations in the gut-brain-axis space, using synergistic combinations of probiotic strains and other dietary ingredients. Such combinations of complementary ingredients will allow the development of solutions that more fully address brain-health related complaints,” he details. 

“A thorough understanding of ingredients supported by robust data is needed here. We use our database of long-term stability data to help us select ingredient combinations that will not hinder the viability of our probiotic strains, ensuring high-quality and efficient products.”

Upcoming trends and innovation
DuBow explains how ADM’s ongoing research can contribute to understanding how the gut-brain axis can support multiple facets of mood, behavior and focus. 

“We foresee sleep and stress support as integral pieces for what’s next in gut-brain axis products. As more trials investigate probiotic and postbiotic supplementation in this space, health and wellness brands must tap into science-backed solutions to meet consumers’ evolving demands.”

AB-Biotics states that there is currently a demand for convenience and palatability for supplements.AB-Biotics’ Bonachera adds that there is currently a demand for convenience and palatability with all dietary supplements and that products targeting the gut-brain axis are no different.

“This means that we expect to see innovation in delivery formats in order to meet these consumer preferences. To address this, we are working on several functional food developments, for example, fermented fruit juices with added probiotic strains that have the potential to alleviate stress and mood disturbance,” he details 

AB-Biotics has completed studies showing the “good stability” of the live probiotic strains and — according to Bonachera — great taste.

He further anticipates continued demand for personalized solutions using a combination of science-backed ingredients to target increasingly specific brain and mental health concerns. 

“Robust evidence supporting the targeted health benefits of ingredients will remain vital as the field advances and consumer understanding of the deep link between the gut and brain health grows.”

“Alongside this growth in consumer understanding is the prioritization of healthy aging and cognitive health, where we’re seeing consumer demand for natural solutions to support the prevention of cognitive decline,” Bonachera concludes. 

By Milana Nikolova