The event, which includes senior speakers from the likes of DuPont, Yakult and Danone Nutricia, as well as several high-profile academic experts, will assess the latest consumer trends, business developments and research findings across three days.
Held at the Hilton Singapore, the summit features delegates from many major manufacturers, suppliers and researchers involved in the field of probiotics and the microbiome.
Seven studies have been approved by our Scientific Committee, and will feature at the opening poster session and cocktail event. They span the impact probiotics can have on a broad range of health concerns.
Here are the key findings:
1) Probiotics display beneficial therapeutic effects on vaginal mucosal infection
Researchers from Lesaffre in France and Singapore assessed the impact of the probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3856 live yeast (LY) and its inactivated form (IY) in treating vaginal candidiasis.
Their studies on mice demonstrated that vaginal administration of LY and IY was able to positively influence the course of vaginal candidiasis by accelerating the clearance of the fungus from the vagina.
They concluded: "The effectiveness of live yeast was higher than that of inactivated whole yeast, suggesting that the synergy between mechanical effects and biological effects were dominant over purely mechanical effects. Overall, our data show for the first time that Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3856 (living cells or not) can exert beneficial therapeutic effects on a widespread vaginal mucosal infection. “
2) Drinking fermented milk containing Lactobacillus paracasei 431 improves immune response to flu
This eight-week triple-blinded RCT aimed to assess the effect of drinking fermented milk containing IMULUS™ on immune response to influenza virus A (H1N1 and H3N2) and Flu-B in healthy Thai adults receiving the 2015 — 2016 seasonal influenza vaccine.
Sixty healthy adults were randomised to receive either the probiotic milk or a placebo for two weeks pre- and four weeks post-vaccination.
Anti-viral response at zero, two, six and eight weeks after intervention was tested, showing the positive impact of the probiotics on immunity.
The paper concluded: "These pilot results indicated that drinking fermented milk containing IMULUSTM may be an approach to raise immune response against influenza A, especially for participants with low pre-existing immune (systems)."
3) Fermentation technology ensures probiotic delivery without encapsulation
The F&B market is still beset by issues of strain stability, short shelf life, and challenges in the development of probiotic application technology. Major emphasis has been made on protecting microorganisms from harsh or high-temperature conditions with the help of encapsulation techniques, the addition of different protectants, and the alteration of processing and storage conditions.
But Triphase has employed innovative proprietary fermentation technology to ensure its thermo-stable probiotic strains (L. acidophilus and L. plantarum) have the ability to withstand harsh manufacturing processes.
"These innovative strains especially have been developed using a proprietary process to ensure delivery of claimed dosage levels of probiotics. These strains don’t require any encapsulation. Due to their high temperature stability, many applications have opened up," states the poster.
4) Oral probiotic Streptococcus salivarius K12 improves halitosis
Researchers in China sought to evaluate the effect of Streptococcus salivarius K12 on halitosis resulting from unhealthy tongue-coating.
They identified 28 subjects with tongue coating-associated halitosis for this double-blind RCT, and randomly divided them into either a test or control group. Test subjects sucked on one tablet containing Streptococcus salivarius K12, while the control subjects sucked on placebo tablets for a total of 30 days.
Subjects were assessed for organoleptic test (OLT) scores, volatile sulphur compound (VSC) levels, and tongue coating scores at baseline.
They concluded: "Delivery of tablets containing the oral probiotic Streptococcus salivarius K12 provided a prolonged improvement in various breath measurements, compared to the placebo."
5) Fermented camel milk provides greater antioxidant benefits
Academics in the UAE and Hong Kong compared the antioxidant, ACE-inhibition and anti-proliferative activities of camel milk fermented with Lactococcus lactis KX881782 (Lc.K782), compared with fermented bovine milk.
Their in vitro study found that the proteolytic activities of the water-soluble extract in all fermented camel milk were higher than those of fermented bovine milk.
It "showed that health-promoting benefits, particularly antioxidant, ACE-inhibition and anti-proliferative activities of WSE in fermented camel milk were markedly higher.”
6) Probiotic supplementation aids dermatitis treatment
In this study, mice were subjected to dermatitis before receiving supplementation with Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101.
Their skins were evaluated for severity of SCORAD (scoring atopic dermatits) index, including redness, swelling, oozing / crusting, scratch marks, skin thickening, and dryness, with the scores ranging from none or mild to moderate or severe.
NTU 101 significantly decreased the EC-sensitised mice's SCORAD index.
"Our results suggested that oral administration of NTU 101 effectively alleviate the atopic dermatitis in mice," noted the researchers from Taiwan.
7) Synbiotic approach increases health benefits
Researchers in India assessed the health-promoting effects of prebiotics and the probiotic L.plantarum in mice.
The synbiotic combination exhibited three times the phagocytic activity the individual effects.
It also displayed greater antioxidant effects in liver cells, and a higher reduction of colon cancer markers.
We'll have full coverage from Probiota Asia 2017 over the coming days.