Probiotics & LBP's

ProDigest's services can support many of the key aspects in the research and development of your LBP’s, probiotic and synbiotic products.

A common research question is the detailed examination of the survival and fitness of the organism(s) during its passage through the GI tract before it reaches its site of action. This can be tackled using the upper GI tract simulation , which mimics the physiology of the upper GI tract under fasted and fed conditions. In addition, the upper GI tract simulation (if needed coupled to a colonic simulation) allows to study the impact of formulations and matrices supporting protection and/or targeted delivery of the strains.

Colonization and engraftment at the site of action, detailed mechanism of action and impact on the microbiome composition and the microbiome metabolic activity can be investigated using the colonic simulation technologies. The SHIME^®  enables detailed study of long-term effects, repeated dosing, wash out and impact on the different colonic regions. The short-term colon and Colon-on-a-plate^® are characterized by a higher throughput, allowing comparison of tens of products, or studying the impact of interindividual variability and other factors in a cost-effective manner. All colonic simulations can be extended with mucosal simulation or can be modified to simulate the microbiome in the ileum instead of the colon.

Colonic simulations also offer insights on the impact of probiotics, LBPs and synbiotics in restoring dysbiotic/diseased microbial communities or protecting from antibiotics treatments and pathogen infections.

Some probiotics, synbiotics or LBP’s exert their effect through adhesion or interaction with the gut epithelial cells. These and other microbiome-host interactions, like the impact on gut barrier integrity and immune modulation can be studied in detail using a wide range of cell culture models. Coupling of the above-described technology platforms with our MetaKey metabolomics platform further extends the diversity of research questions that can be answered and provides additional insight in potential health benefits connected to the use of these products.