Expanding the reach of probiotics through social enterprises

Abstract

The rapid rise in microbiome and probiotic science has led to estimates of product creation and sales exceeding $50 billion within five years. However, many people do not have access to affordable products, and regulatory agencies have stifled progress. The objective of a discussion group at the 2017 meeting of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics was to identify mechanisms to confer the benefits of probiotics to a larger portion of the world's population. Three initiatives, built around fermented food, were discussed with different methods of targeting populations that face enormous challenges of malnutrition, infectious disease, poverty and violent conflict. As new candidate probiotic strains emerge, and the market diversifies towards more personalised interventions, manufacturing processes will need to evolve. Information dissemination through scientific channels and social media is projected to provide consumers and healthcare providers with rapid access to clinical results, and to identify the nearest location of sites making new and affordable probiotic food and supplements. This rapid translation of science to individual well-being will not only expand the beneficiaries of probiotics, but also fuel new social enterprises and economic business models.

Probiotics and prebiotics in intestinal health and disease: from biology to the clinic

“…However, a program has introduced inexpensive sachets containing a probiotic L. rhamnosus (GR-1 or Yoba 2012) plus S. thermophilus C106 that allows locals to produce different forms of fermented foods (yoghurt, millet, cereals, juices) that not only influence health but also empower poverty-stricken communities to improve social well-being. 4 With over 260,000 consumers being reached each week in East Africa, the potential is enormous to use these beneficial microbes and local food sources to impact communities (manuscript submitted).…”

“…Education of consumers, practitioners and regulators will facilitate appropriate use and point out needs for further research, which will hopefully include exploration of how to reach the individuals at greatest need with affordable and reliable probiotic products. 4 Prebiotics, first defined in 1995 5 , have been used to manipulate microbes in the host to improve measurable health outcomes. An update to the prebiotic definition published in 2017 as "a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit" was compelled by the need to clarify what did and did not constitute a prebiotic substance in the face of scientific advances.…”

Clinical Ecology—Transforming 21st-Century Medicine with Planetary Health in Mind

“…In addition to dietary prescriptions based on microbiome bioinformatics [97], other microbe-derived therapies are on the horizon. Already, probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics (e.g., heat-inactivated microbes or microbial parts) are being utilized for personal and public health benefit [98][99][100][101][102][103]. Fecal microbiota transplant, already of known value in Clostridium difficile infection [104], may provide benefit in various extra-intestinal NCDs [105,106].…”

Harnessing Microbes for Sustainable Development: Food Fermentation as a Tool for Improving the Nutritional Quality of Alternative Protein Sources

“…However, it has recently been suggested that fermented foods should be considered as part of national dietary recommendations [48], with a special emphasis on those products that are part of the traditional diet of each population group. Beyond their nutritional role, the promotion of fermentation and the recovering of traditional fermented foods can have a societal role, promoting the development of disadvantaged communities and supporting the reduction of infections and diarrhea, for example [49][50][51][52][53]. Yogurts enriched with probiotic Lactobacillus or with S. thermophilus have been employed in some societal developing programs, but the production of cereal-and vegetable-based fermented foods has also been encouraged [49,51,52].…”