With the ever-growing bank of knowledge on the impact that the gut microbiome can have on overall health, many consumers are turning to nutraceuticals that benefit the bacteria living inside us. Probiotics are a popular functional ingredient for this purpose; they are
known to boost the diversity of the gut’s microflora while also enhancing the synthesis of useful by-products.
Most currently available probiotics are lyophilised or freeze-dried, meaning that they are in their dormant state before ingestion; this is generally done to increase the supplement’s shelf-life. However, owing to the extreme conditions of the gut, lyophilised strains may not
survive long enough to have any real benefit to a user’s health.
Because of this phenomenon, Doctor’s Biome is beginning to switch up its delivery methods. To ensure more of the “good stuff” gets to the gut, the company incorporates its probiotic solutions in fruit and vegetable juices to deliver live strains directly to where they need to be.
Nutraceutical Business Review spoke to Dr Howard Robins, the Chief Medical Officer of Doctor’s Biome, to discover five reasons why liquid probiotic supplements are better than their traditional freeze-dried counterparts.
Probiotics can only exhibit their benefits if they reach the gut alive
More bacteria make it to the gut alive
Howard believes that to get the most out of a probiotic supplement, the bacterial strains present in the formula must be viable: “When probiotics are living at the time of consumption, their survival rate in the body and gut is significantly better than when the
strains are freeze-dried. Probiotics can only exhibit their benefits if they reach the gut alive … and those that are freeze-dried often don’t recover because of the extreme conditions they are subjected to before they reach their target location.”
More bacteria to produce essential by-products
Once the bacteria reach the gut successfully, they can begin to make positive changes, Dr Robins elaborates: “When you have a large population of probiotic strains is introduced into the gut microbiome, they will begin to help digest the food we consume. Bacterial
strains such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium can produce a number of by-products, which provide benefits in terms of immune support, cardiovascular and metabolic health.”
No more pill fatigue
“There has been a visible move away from pills and capsules in the nutraceutical industry as consumers look for a more user-friendly solution that allows them to avoid pill fatigue,” states Howard. “Health-conscious members of the public are turning to wellness-boosting
solutions such as vitamin shots, so we catered our probiotic solution to this growing market by suspending it in juice. This way, people can access a more convenient and effective delivery method.”
Probiotics in a liquid medium can be fortified ... with both gut health-promoting ingredients and essential vitamins and minerals
Enhancing vitamin levels simultaneously
When incorporating probiotics into a liquid solution, it also exposes the user to the vitamins present in the medium: “Fruit and vegetable juices are filled with vitamins and minerals, which can count towards an individual’s recommended daily intake — while also helping them to maintain their health. For those looking to incorporate their probiotics into a liquid medium, there is potential to fortify a formulation with both gut health-promoting ingredients and essential vitamins and minerals.”
Proven efficacy by multiple studies
To determine the true impacts of liquid probiotics, Doctor’s Biome has conducted several studies, Dr Robins explains: “We have assessed the efficacy of our probiotic products in a number of investigations, which have exhibited positive results.”
“For example, in a post-marketing surveillance study, individuals with a variety of gastrointestinal conditions (occasional diarrhoea, GI disorders and irregularities) were recommended to drink 50 mL of our gut health solution daily for 8 weeks. After this period
of supplementation, the average scores from a self-reporting questionnaire labelled the product as ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ when discussing their efficacy and safety.” 1 
“We also found that our colon health product could inhibit the activity of the pathogenic bacteria Clostridium difficile in an in vitro study. We hypothesise that this occurred because of the competitive exclusion principle. Our probiotic strains appear to be able to outcompete the ‘bad’ bacteria — although it could also be because of the synergism between the Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli blends, which release bioactive compounds that can inhibit the pathogen’s growth.” 2
“Another one of our probiotic women’s health blends can inhibit Escherichia coli, a pathogen commonly associated with urinary tract infections and vaginal candidiasis. The complete inhibition of E. coli growth was seen in the test sample from days 1–5. This trend
was also seen with Candida albicans, with the growth of this bacterium being reduced by 70% on day 1 and completely inhibited during days 2–5.” 3
“Finally, we found that our medical food for the dietary management of multiple sclerosis (MS) inhibits the growth of the epsilon toxin-producing Clostridium perfringens. According to recent published clinical findings, these bacteria could be a cause — or trigger — for
MS.”
References
1 https://scholars.direct/Articles/gastroenterology/jgr-5-039.php?jid=gastroenterology.
2 https://scholars.direct/Articles/gastroenterology/jgr-4-020.php?jid=gastroenterology#:~:text=We%20can%20conclude%20that%20the,difficile.
3 www.fortunejournals.com/articles/inhibition-of-e-coli-and-c-albicans-with-a-dietary-womenrsquos-health-formulation.html.
4 www.opastpublishers.com/peer-review/inhibition-of-epsilon-toxinproducing-clostridium-
perfringens-with-
a-juicebased-probiotic-medical-food-for-dietary-manage-7194.html.