Encouraging results that motivate the company’s More than 57% of subjects lost more than 3% of researchers (more than one-third of the 100 em- body weight, as compared to 41.7% in the place- ployees) to pursue their clinical efforts. Two trials bo group. These results were also confirmed by are underway on Tourette’s syndrome and Rett the number of those who lost more than 4% of syndrome, and on insomnia with results expected weight (46.2% versus 29.3%). And again, a cor- for the summer of 2021. relation between the waist circumferences that The psychobiotic L. plantarum PS128 is derived significantly decreased by 1.7 cm as compared from mustard leaves. It has obtained the GRAS to the control group (1.2 cm) at 8 weeks and by status,was a winner of the NutraIngredients 2.8 cm (versus 1.7) at 12 weeks. In addition, the Awards Asia in the Probiotic category in 2018 and satiety was improved in the test group, unlike in has already sold more than 30 million doses. the placebo group. At the end of the 12 weeks, the blood glucose levels of the two groups were WITH THE STATED MISSION OF statistically different, although they hadn’t been TACKLING OBESITY so at the beginning of the study. Total and LDL While 37% and 31% of the French population con- cholesterol levels had decreased at the end of sume probiotics for good digestion and immunity the study compared to the baseline. Finally, the respectively, only 6% say they do so because of a feeling of satisfaction was higher (from simple weight problem (Harris International survey con- to double) in the probiotic group both among ducted on behalf of Synadiet, February 2021). Is it the subjects and investigators. Such clinical ev- because of lack of knowledge or lack of evidence? idence entitles probiotics to win their place in However, the players in the sector of probiotics the metabolic syndrome segment. Hafnia alvei targeting “weight management and the metabolic HA4597 has obtained the GRAS status, it was syndrome” are well on their way to the battlefield. approved as Food Grade in Europe, NHPID in On the front line, TargEDys, another spinoff Canada and in 2019 it was awarded in the weight and a specialist in the gut-brain axis, which, management category at the NutraIngredients viaits Hafnia alveiHA4597 strain, offers solu- Awards Europe and Food Matter Live Awards. tions for food supplements (EnteroSatys® and Just like, the blend of three L. plantarum strains, Satylia®) to fight back metabolic disorders. The Floradapt Cardio from Kaneka Probiotics, which targets are overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes, has clinically demonstrated its efficacy on cho- and the weapon used the Precibiomic® concept lesterol and has recently obtained the GRAS sta- or the scientific demonstration seeking to be as tus. OptiBiotix’s L. plantarum LPLDL patented exhaustive as possible to prove not only the ef- strain has also been clinically tested for its ef- fectiveness of the products, but to identify pre- fect on cholesterol. OptiBiotix has expanded its cisely the «how». An all-included approach: with range of CholBiome® supplements with a fourth the focus on study and understanding the mech- CholBiome® Vh (LPLDL + vitamins B1 and K2). anism of action upstream and consumer feed- To be launched in the third quarter this year, back downstream. Fifteen years of research and this new product aims to limit calcium and cho- development and finally a clinical study that has lesterol buildup in the arteries. Europe and the recently demonstrated in 230 overweight peo- United Kingdom will be the first targeted mar- ple the effect of consuming two capsules per day kets. With a long-term goal: to offer a full range on weight loss after 12 weeks of low-calorie diet. of probiotics for cardiovascular health (choles- terol, blood pressure). Always prove and look for more: fifteen years of research around the Akkermansia muciniphila bacterium with, at the end of the tunnel, the cre- ation of A-Mansia Biotech, a spinoff whose goal is to propose food supplements fighting obesity. Its weapons: clinical evidence and a pilot study that6 has already showed beneficial effects on blood glucose and the anthropometric parameters in an overweight and/or obese, insulin-resistant popu- lation. Science at the service of the probiotic mar- ket or rather clinical studies as a gateway to reach- ing the nutraceutical market? With one thing sure: all the health and nutrition segments seem to be interested in probiotics. ecneicS — ecneicS- 421 -