Probiotics

In-depth analyses of probiotic benefits, properties and challenges aiming to advance probiotic knowledge for the benefit of consumer health

 

Task Force Information

Objectives and list of Task Force members

Contact Information

Contact details in case you have specific questions

Activity Overview

Overview of ongoing and
upcoming activities

Expert Groups

Objectives, output and list of experts involved in each activity

Publications

List of publications of this
Task Force

Multimedia

Links to Task Force related documents, recordings and much more...

Completed Expert Groups

Details including experts involved of
each activity

Task Force Information

Objectives

Consumers, the scientific community, regulators and the food and dietary supplement industry show increasing interest in probiotics and their health benefits. The attention of the task force is thus focused on the understanding of the role of probiotics in health and disease, their mechanisms of action while increasing awareness of their direct/indirect benefits on health.

Task Force Members

* Scientific Advisors

Contact Information

For more detailed information, please contact Naomi Venlet at nvenlet@ilsieurope.be

Activity Overview

Mapping of probiotics and their activities in the small intestine - Ongoing -

Objectives

This activity will lead to a better understanding of the mode of action of probiotics in the small intestine, and to identify the most important gaps that still need to be filled. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this project should help improve clinical research on probiotic efficacy.

Probiotics and pregnancy - Upcoming -

Objectives

This activity aims to review and publish evidence on possible influences of the type of carbohydrates co-ingested with proteins, on post-prandial and longer-term protein utilization. Results may be applied in selecting carbohydrates to help compensate for poorer quality or intakes/utilisation of proteins (e.g. plant-based diets, ageing populations), and also highlighting research gaps.

Expected results

Peer reviewed publication

Postbiotics - Upcoming -

Objectives

Seek consumer, Health care practitioners and regulatory authorities input to frame a subsequent review paper on postbiotics, but with a focus on consumer concerns, knowledge gaps and misconceptions.

Expected results

Peer reviewed publication

Expert Groups

Benefits, challenges, and opportunities with changes in the maternal microbiome before and during pregnancy

Background and objectives

During pregnancy, especially during the third trimester, the maternal microbiota is undergoing considerable changes in the gut, the vagina and, as recently shown, the endometrium. Interestingly, the maternal microbiome has now emerged as an important factor for a healthy pregnancy as well as a cause of pregnancy-related health issues e.g. preterm birth. Indeed, emerging research has started to link microbial dysbiosis and specific microbial populations with pregnancy complications. Thus, it is important to understand the context of physiological temporal microbial changes during pregnancy and mechanisms by which these changes can impact health outcomes. Furthermore, the use of probiotics during pregnancy is not a standard practice, however, given the importance of the microbiota for various health outcomes, it is crucial to better understand maternal microbiota changes, natural or induced, before and during pregnancy, their impact on maternal health and underlying mechanisms of action, as well the potential role of probiotics to optimize maternal health outcomes based on these insights.

Output

This activity will highlight mother and/or infant health outcomes associated with changes in the maternal microbiota before and during pregnancy. It will detail the mechanistic consequences of maternal microbiota changes, and discuss early observations from probiotic clinical studies, to identify opportunities for optimized use of probiotics during pregnancy in a narrative review.

Expert group members

 

Mapping of probiotics and their activities in the small intestine

Background and Objectives

The knowledge of probiotics activity in humans is predominantly based on a reflection of what can be gathered in stool samples. However, many diseases have their origin in or are associated with the small intestine, such as certain diarrhoeas, auto-immune and celiac disease and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this activity is to look at the different barriers functions, microbial composition and physiology of the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum), models and technologies currently available to assess survival and understand how probiotics interact and act on this part of the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract.

Output

This activity will lead to a better understanding of the mode of action of probiotics in the small intestine, and to identify the most important gaps that still need to be filled. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this project should help improve clinical research on probiotic efficacy.

Expert Group Members

 

Publications

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Multimedia

Introductory video

 

 

Posters

Monitoring Immune Modulation by Nutrition in General Population: Identifying and Substantiating Effects on Human Health

Exploring the Interactions between Probiotics and Health

Webinars

'Toolsets for Mining the gut Microbiome to Enable Precision Nutrition'
Watch the Webinar
'Understanding Prebiotic and Probiotic Mechanisms that Drive Health Benefits'
Watch the Webinar

Completed Expert Groups

Overview of completed activities since 2021

* To see the full output of the task force, please visit the Task Force publication list