How did this collaboration with the National Institute for Research in Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) come about?
It all started with a discussion I had with researcher Joël Doré following a presentation he gave in Rennes a few years ago.
He presented a concept about gut ecosystem health that fascinated me.
The main idea is very simple: what happens in our intestines is linked to our overall health. We know that. Until now, we’ve talked a lot about the microbiota, which we can nurture with probiotics or fibers. But it’s much more complex than that! And this is where the notion of an ecosystem that these researchers explored becomes exciting: there are several parameters to gut health, of which the microbiota is indeed a part. The more parameters we activate, the more likely we are to improve our ecosystem’s health. For instance, if I moderate my local inflammation, I improve this parameter and also positively impact the microbiota, which in turn will improve inflammation. It’s a virtuous circle.
Conversely, if I degrade the diversity and richness of my microbiota, I will also indirectly worsen my inflammatory state and worsen the condition of my microbiota. A vicious circle this time.
So the idea is simple: by acting on four levels instead of just one, I multiply the effectiveness. In other words, the cumulative effect of actions on four parameters will be greater than the sum of the individual effects combined. It’s the very definition of the synergistic effect!
For our part at Nutri&Co, we were already betting on cumulative effects: our probiotic mix contains a polyphenol with a prebiotic effect, and we have our fibers! Intuitively, this seemed like an effective approach. When I attended Joël Doré’s presentation and understood that his lab had world-renowned expertise for this type of project, I thought we had to work together!
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This is actually at the heart of a very important question in our industry: I have data on an isolated ingredient, but is it really much better to combine it with other ingredients and can I measure this synergistic effect? We need more data and research on what we call the “finished product,” that is, combinations of ingredients, going beyond what we know about isolated ingredients.
Could you explain what this research consists of and how you are collaborating with INRAE? What is the timeline?
I can’t go into technical details as they remain confidential, but the objectives are simple:
- We want to verify the effects of our products on the gut ecosystem.
- And then find out how to improve them to aim for this synergistic effect described above.
We will therefore test the effect of our current products, but also of other ingredients and combinations on the various intestinal parameters.
We will study the products on “human microbiomes” in a reactor, and this is where the expertise of INRAE is also crucial: advanced sequencing technology is needed to measure diversity (which species?) and richness (how many?) of bacteria in the culture.
So, in essence, we will test our products and future versions on the human microbiome and evaluate how effects impact all the parameters of our gut ecosystem. And all of this will allow us to optimize the effect of our products while understanding more precisely how they work.
We know very well that probiotics, fibers, and polyphenols work: but how exactly do they work and how can I make them work together?
This first phase of the project will last 24 months, even without considering the doors it will open for us because the results will certainly encourage us to go further and attempt a clinical study!
What are the expected results?
It’s very simple:
- To understand exactly how our products work and which levers of the gut ecosystem they act on.
- To check if there is indeed a synergistic effect when we use them together.
- To optimize our formulas on an established scientific basis.
Do you wish to extend this research to other formulas besides those dedicated to digestive health?
It is possible, even though we must choose the right field. Other health concerns of the French interest us, such as sports performance or healthy aging (notably cognitive decline), but I can’t tell you more for the moment!
