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A unique postbiotic ingredient for innovative functional solutions and dietary supplements
The biotics market has rapidly evolved and diversified over the past decade.
It is now segmented into three main categories: pre-, pro-, and post- biotics.
Probiotics. These are living bacteria with a positive effect on health, are now well known among consumers and currently used in a wide variety of products on the health nutrition market.
Prebiotics. Less extensively incorporated into health products but increasingly well-known are prebiotics, a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit. Most prebiotics are non-digestible fibers. Prebiotic solutions have increasingly attracted consumer interest and grown in importance on the health nutrition market.
Postbiotics. Lastly, postbiotics have been in the spotlight since the end of 2021, after being officially defined by International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) as “a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host”.
These developments make it possible to get a clearer view of the biotics market and its exciting potential. In the postbiotic segment, LBiome™ is a pioneer and unique ingredient specifically designed for innovation.
The diversification and expansion of the biotics market reflects macro consumer trends: greater awareness of health, a desire for enhanced well-being, and a demand for greater convenience. And to meet these trends, further innovation in food supplements and functional solutions by manufacturers is called for.
Global trends for functional solutions and dietary supplements
Increasingly, the lines between supplements and foods are blurring. For example, drinks are becoming more functional. It has become increasingly common to see drinks containing biotic ingredients marketed around health claims of great interest to consumers, such as immunity, digestion or even sleep disorders.
Food supplements, on the contrary, are becoming more and more food-like. The most telling proof is the success of gummies. Gummies market share for dietary supplements grew to $2.6 billion dollars worldwide by 2021 representing a global market growth of 23% compared to 2020.1 This is an exceptional development for the new galenic of dietary supplements, which today are increasingly marketed in the form of food products.
This is a fundamental trend that responds to a global search for health prevention and enhanced wellbeing. Indeed, consumers have become acutely aware of the need for prevention. Supplements are a way for individuals to maintain good health for longer. They can also potentially represent significant savings in terms of public health expenditure by relieving the pressure on public health systems.
As for innovations that will perform well in the marketplace, tomorrow's solutions must contain the following characteristics:
- Proven efficacy based on scientific evidence, such as the LBiome™ postbiotic ingredient
- Practical and with a long shelf life so as to be integrated into the busy lives of demanding consumers
- Positioned around essential health benefits such as immunity and intestinal health which are vital for individual wellbeing and closely interconnected.
Why postbiotic ingredients are relevant for product innovation
To innovate in the dietary supplements and functional solutions markets, a choice of ingredients is at the heart of the solution. It is the ingredients that confer health benefits, enabling products to stand out, attract and convince consumers.
With numerous advantages and able to meet the strict challenges and requirements of product formulation postbiotic ingredients are an ideal solution for product innovation.
Health and physiological benefits
Postbiotics are solutions with proven health benefits. This is particularly the case for the postbiotic ingredient LBiome™, whose mechanism of action has been extensively elucidated. Its postbiotic ingredients help to:
- Shield the gut from undesirable bacteria
- Protect, support and strengthen tight junctions
- Work with the host’s own microbiome to help improve gut health and immunity
Safety
Postbiotic ingredients confer no risk of translocation from the gut lumen to blood, especially in vulnerable subjects like children. Moreover, unlike with certain probiotics, there is no risk of acquisition or retransfer of antibiotic resistance genes.
Convenience
Due to their inanimate nature, postbiotic ingredients are convenient to formulate, but are also practical for the end consumer. Postbiotics enable longer product conservation, and, unlike probiotics, are resistant to heat. LBiome™ is available in powder form making it easy to incorporate into formulas.
Ready-to-act
This is a major difference, and a proven strength compared to probiotics. Any probiotic product ingested must contain live microorganisms with a suitably viable cell count to be effective. Once they reach the intestines – if they are resistant to the acidic stomach environment – probiotic bacteria will begin to work hard immediately, producing the bioactive molecules which, once at a sufficient level, provide the body with health benefits. Unlike probiotics, postbiotics do not require an implantation time and are ready to act.
What makes LBiome™ a unique postbiotic ingredient
LBiome™ is a unique and renowned natural postbiotic ingredient. Indeed, this ingredient is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the world of postbiotics.
It is a combination of two proprietary human origin strains L. fermentum and L. delbrueckii, the fermented culture medium and metabolites. The ingredient is produced through the unique ECHO process, which Enriches, Concentrates and Heat-treats Organisms in just five steps.
This postbiotic solution is not new to the market. It has been used for decades in the pharmaceutical product Lactéol®, a recognized treatment for diarrhea.
However, it is only recently that the product’s star ingredient has been made widely available to product developers to innovate in the markets of dietary supplements and functional solutions.
How postbiotic ingredients are an opportunity to innovate
The postbiotic ingredient LBiome™ provides a great opportunity to innovate in the markets of tomorrow. The ingredient is suitable for both human and pet markets. Knowing that pet health solutions are often variations of trends among humans, postbiotics will prove to be a key ingredient in the future development of pet health products.
LBiome™ responds to consumer demands and needs for practicality, adapting to many galenic forms, solid and liquid, with convenience at the fore. As proof of its effectiveness and to establish trust among consumers, it has been supported by almost 50 scientific studies.
Finally, its mechanism of action has been thoroughly studied and understood over an extensive time period. With this level of understanding and expertise at hand, this is an ideal opportunity for laboratories and pharmaceutical companies to inform and educate consumers about the efficacy of postbiotic ingredients.
LBiome™ is an ingredient of Adare Biome, a pioneer in postbiotics.
References
1. SPINS, 2021.