A multifunctional probiotic shown to support human health throughout the lifespan

Maintaining health is a lifelong journey, filled with key stages that present unique challenges.​

Throughout our lifespan, it is crucial to pay attention to the many factors that contribute to our overall wellbeing to ensure that we age healthily. Healthy ageing is not solely about increasing lifespan; it’s about improving the quality of life in those years.

From the moment we are born, our bodies begin a process of growth and development. In infancy and childhood, our bodies are in a rapid state of development. Proper nutrition, regular physical activity, and sufficient sleep are fundamental to supporting this growth.

These early years set the foundation for our future health, influencing everything from our cognitive abilities to our physical strength. Encouraging healthy habits from a young age can pave the way for a healthy and active life.

As we move into adulthood, maintaining a balanced lifestyle becomes essential. This includes a diet rich in nutrients and regular exercise. Creating a lifestyle that prioritises mental and emotional wellbeing is equally important as it can significantly promote overall quality of life.

When we reach our senior years, the focus often shifts to maintaining mobility, cognitive function and independence. This is where the habits and practices developed over a lifetime come into play. Regular physical activity, even if it’s light, can help keep joints flexible and muscles strong, as well as supporting mental and emotional health.

As ageing can be accompanied by disease and susceptibility to infection, it is also important to maintain a strong immune system. Alongside physical activity and sleep management, supporting gut health can help keep our immune system strong.

The importance of gut health​

The human gut is the largest immune organ in the body and home to hundreds of trillions of microorganisms. As well as breaking down the foods we eat and absorbing nutrients, growing research shows that the gut microbiota can impact multiple organs and functions in our body and act as a critical mediator in maintaining health.¹​

“Healthy gut development from birth is important because microbial exposure can help the infant adapt to immune tolerance and ensure that the immune system is trained and matured,” says Chyn Boon Wong, Science Communication Specialist and Marketing Manager, Morinaga Milk Industry.

“The immune maturation process requires interactions with the microbes present in the gut. For infants and children, Bifidobacteria are a key probiotic species in this area and play a key role in establishing and supporting healthy gut microbiota, from early life and throughout the entire lifespan.

“As well as supporting the development of immunity required to protect against infections, healthy gut microbiota can also reduce the risk of the infant developing allergies.”

Colonisation by Bifidobacteria, particularly a handful of species which are recognised as Human Residential Bifidobacteria (HRB), is believed to play a pivotal role in maintaining human health. This colonisation is involved in the maturation of the immune, digestive and metabolic systems which can protect against diseases later in life. Indeed, a lack of Bifidobacteria in early life is associated with health issues, such as allergies, infections and gastrointestinal (GI) conditions across the entire lifespan.

Members of Bifidobacterium ​are among the first colonisers of the human gut and one of the most abundant genera in the healthy breastfed infant gut. This abundance in the GI tract decreases significantly after weaning and continues to decline into adulthood.²​ While the levels of bifidobacteria remain relatively stable during adulthood, they decrease again in old age.

“In adulthood, we know that our gut microbiome is fairly stable but lifestyle factors, such as travelling, stress and medication can disturb our microbiota,” adds Wong. “In these circumstances, probiotics can help maintain certain levels of immunity, ensuring that there is ‘good’ bacteria to maintain balance and protect against infection.”

In the elderly, as ageing progresses, beneficial bacteria start to decline, and this can effect changes in gut and bowel function. At the same time, the immune response weakens, and this reduces the responsiveness to vaccinations.

“All of these changes can be attributed to an imbalance in the gut microbiota,” Wong says.

According to data from Euromonitor, about one quarter of consumers globally suffer from lower digestive health issues; around half of these claim that this has a moderate or severe impact on their overall health.³​ As scientific evidence grows, and consumers become more informed and proactive about their health – a trend which has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic – demand for probiotic supplementation in food and drink products to support gut health is growing.

But with a wide selection of probiotics available, whose characteristics and mechanisms of actions differ from strain to strain even within the same species, which are most effective for supporting human health throughout the entire lifespan?

A probiotic with multifunctional efficacies​

Bifidobacterium longum​ subsp. longum​ BB536 was first isolated from a healthy infant gut over 50 years ago and has been shown to help stabilise the gut microbiota, improve the intestinal environment and enhance gut health. As a probiotic strain that resonates well with the human host, it has been shown to be one of the most clinically effective, well-established probiotic strains with multifunctional efficacies to improve gastrointestinal, immunological and infectious conditions.

“BB536 is Morinaga Milk’s flagship probiotic strain and has accumulated more than 260 studies demonstrating its beneficial effects,” says Wong.

“Our studies show that BB536’s cross-feeding feature allows it to interact with other members of the gut, and through microbiota ‘crosstalk’, this allows the strain to extend its benefits to stabilise the gut microbiota and maintain balance,” adds Wong.

It is rare for a strain to have such a broad distribution across the human lifespan, and it is this that sets BB536 apart as a key determinant of intestinal​ homeostasis and health. In infants, an abundance of HRB strains such as BB536 in the gut is of utmost importance. In a 2015 study, the effects of supplementation with BB536 on intestinal microbiota composition and the immune response in healthy newborn infants found that the strain had positive effects in establishing a healthy intestinal microbiota early in life, and also played an important role in improving the Th1 immune response.⁴​

In premature infants (gestation <28 weeks), a study showed that administration of Bifidobacteria promoted the formation of a bifidobacteria-dominant microbiota.⁵​ Another randomised clinical trial studying the effects of single versus multi-strain probiotics in extremely preterm infants found that triple-strain probiotic supplementation (a mixture of B. breve​ M-16V, B. longum​ subsp. infantis​ M-63 and B. longum​ subsp. longum​ BB536) was effective in reducing dysbiosis, promoting higher Bifidobacteria and lower gammaproteobacteria which includes potentially pathogenic genera.⁶​

Additional evidence has shown that BB536 can promote health benefits when supplemented in sachet powder forms for children, with the potential for protective effects in high-prone seasons for upper respiratory illnesses, and reducing duration of fever, sore throat, runny nose and cough.⁷​

In healthy adults and the elderly population, clinical evidence has shown that intake of BB536 could improve the frequency of defecation and faecal characteristics. In a two-way crossover randomized control trial involving 55 adults, intake of BB536 in a yogurt-based drink significantly increased the defecation frequency and tended to increase the number of days with defecation as compared to the placebo group.⁸​

In addition, multiple clinical studies have demonstrated the potential for BB536 to modulate immune responses in human subjects, particularly in the elderly.^9,10​ The strain has also shown anti-allergy effects, backed by a body of clinical data indicating promise in alleviating symptoms of allergic rhinitis.¹¹​

Flagship strain: Morinaga Milk’s BB536​

With a long history in the probiotics Bifidobacteria industry, Morinaga Milk has focused its research on HRB of which B. longum ​BB536 is its flagship probiotic strain. Designed for use in food and drink production, BB536 has an excellent stability profile with a long shelf-life, making it a cost-effective and flexible choice for manufacturers.  

“Until recently, our probiotics have focused on gut health and immunity-support specifically in adults,” says Wong. “However, after receiving approval to use BB356 in infant and toddler foods in China in 2022, and thanks to the strain’s proven stability and versatility across many types of products, we can now target wider demographics.

“We have therefore expanded BB356’s usage into senior nutrition, for example in applications such as milk powder and in yoghurt drinks.”

As a well-established and recognised HRB probiotic, BB536 has the added benefit of offering a sense of familiarity and naturalness for consumers seeking a wide range of products which are healthy, innovative and convenient.

“We are finding that the naturalness of a product is important when selecting a probiotic strain, too. In recent years, products ‘from natural origins’ have had an advantage in the market, as this has been a key factor for consumers when it comes to selecting products,” says Wong.

“We know HRB strains that reside in the human gut can have superiority in terms of their ecological fitness in the intestine, and this can provide a competitive edge for our customers when it comes to application,” says Wong.

Manufacturers looking to develop new food and beverage products with Morinaga Milk’s BB536 probiotic can be confident of targeting a broad group of demographics and supporting a range of health needs. Furthermore, BB536 shows synergy when combined with other functional ingredients, including prebiotics and postbiotics, further expanding commercial opportunities.

Thanks to decades of experience in researching the efficacy and safety of BB536, Morinaga Milk is committed to supporting food and beverage companies in the area of probiotics, helping to fuel innovation in product development and drive commercial success.

References​

1.​ Feng, Q.; Chen W-D.; & Wang, Y-D.; (2018). Gut Microbiota: An Integral Moderator in Health and Disease.​ Front. Microbiol. Volume 9.
2.​ Kato, K., Odamaki, T., Mitsuyama, E., Sugahara, H., Xiao, J.Z. and Osawa, R., 2017. Age-related changes in the composition of gut Bifidobacterium species​. Current microbiology, 74​, pp.987-995.
3.​ Health and Nutrition Survey 2020, Euromonitor International.
4.​ Wu, BB.; Yang, Y.; Xu, X.; et al. (2016). Effects of Bifidobacterium​ supplementation on intestinal microbiota composition and the immune response in healthy infants. ​World J Pediatr 12, 177–182.
5. ​Ishizeki, S.; Sugita, M.; Takata, M.; et al. (2013). Effect of administration of bifidobacteria on intestinal microbiota in low-birth-weight infants and transition of administered bifidobacteria: A comparison between one-species and three-species administration.​ Anaerobe. Volume 23.
6.​ Athalye-Jape, G.; Esvaran, M.; Patole, S.; et al. (2022). Effect of single versus multistrain probiotic in extremely preterm infants: a randomised trial​. BMJ Open Gastroenterology.
7. ​Lau, A. S.; Yanagisawa, N.; Hor, Y. Y.; et al. (2018). Bifidobacterium longum BB536 alleviated upper respiratory illnesses and modulated gut microbiota profiles in Malaysian pre-school children.​ Beneficial microbes, 9(1), 61–70.
8.​ Xiao, J.; Kondo, S.; Odamaki, T.; et al. (2007). Effect of yogurt containing Bifidobacterium longum​ BB536 on the defecation frequency and fecal characteristics of healthy adults: A double-blind cross over study.​ Japanese J Lact Acid Bact. 2007;18(1):31–6.
9.​ Namba, K.; Hatano, M.; Yaeshima, T.; et al. (2010). Effects of Bifidobacterium longum​ BB536 administration on influenza infection, influenza vaccine antibody titer, and cell-mediated immunity in the elderly.​ Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 74(5):939–45.
10. ​Akatsu, H.; Iwabuchi, N.; Xiao, J.; et al. (2013). Clinical effects of probiotic Bifidobacterium longum​ BB536 on immune function and intestinal microbiota in elderly patients receiving enteral tube feeding.​ J Parenter Enter Nutr. 2013;37(5):631–40.
11.​ Xiao, J.; Kondo, S.; Yanagisawa, N.; Takahashi, N.; et al. (2006). Probiotics in the treatment of Japanese cedar pollinosis: a double blind placebo controlled trial.​ Clin Exp Allergy. 36(11):1425–35.