Microencapsulating Probiotics For Optimal Gut Health.
At SupplySide West in Las Vegas last year, market research firm Euromonitor International indicated that probiotics will be the fastest-growing supplement in North America through 2021.
Clearly, more and more consumers are seeking the benefits of “good bacteria”. And while the focus is on developing probiotics for human consumption, these beneficial microorganisms have been used for decades to improve gut health in farm animals.
At Maxx, we’re leading the charge—drawing on our experience and technology to deliver bioavailable probiotics direct to the gastrointestinal tract of humans and different animal species. Here are some of the key insights we’ve gained.
Probiotics in combination deliver big benefits
Just like enzymes work synergistically to break down foods, combining different strains of probiotics can work to the body’s advantage.
Lactobacillus acidophilus is the most popular strain of probiotic used to enhance immune response and decrease the duration of certain maladies. It’s often combined with Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium longum in probiotic preparations to support digestion and help synthesize B vitamins.
While probiotics in combination are beneficial, it’s important to understand how they interact when blended to avoid having one strain neutralize another. In these instances, microencapsulation is used to coat the bacteria, eliminating the potential for adverse reactions and enabling different strains to be delivered at different sites.
Probiotics and enzymes together offer even greater potential
Probiotics produce “teams” of enzymes that break down foods into their basic building blocks. As a result, strains like Lactobacillus that are known to enhance lactase activity (the enzyme that breaks down lactose in dairy products) can also be used to improve enzyme deficiencies, such as lactose intolerance.
Likewise, Lactobacillus plantarum is proven to secrete the naturally occurring antibiotic lactolin, as well as synthesize the amino acid L-lysine to deliver anti-viral benefits. And still other multi-strain, multi-enzyme Bacillus combinations can be used to eliminate toxins from foods, eradicate pathogens in the gut, improve metabolism and preserve key nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants.
That said, given the stresses of everyday life and the need to improve gut health across different species, supplementation with both probiotics and stable enzymes represents a tremendous opportunity to maximize digestibility and promote overall well-being.
Of course, the challenge becomes delivering the probiotics and enzymes to the lower gut without being destroyed in the stomach first.
Microencapsulation can deliver on the promise
As the demand for probiotic supplements and enzymes grows, we’re seeing greater demand for:
- Stability improvement—avoiding degradation during storage, mixing, manufacturing and handling;
- Survivability—ensuring safe passage of these ingredients into the lower gut where they have the greatest impact.
Microencapsulation delivers this balance, promoting optimal gut health and nourishment for every specie.