Probiotic News and Research

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Probiotics are live microorganisms thought to be healthy for the host organism. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: "Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host".

Novel mechanism by which bacteria colonize the gut identified

A new mechanism by which “good” bacteria colonize the gut was unraveled by scientists at Yale University. The finding could aid spur the development of new probiotic therapies.

20 Mar 2023

Bile salt hydrolase cocktails may offer a new approach to inhibit C. diff colonization

Not all probiotics are created equal. In a new study, researchers found that certain enzymes within a class known as bile salt hydrolases (BSHs) can restrict Clostridioides difficile (C. diff.) colonization by both altering existing bile acids and by creating a new class of bile acids within the gut's microbial environment.

14 Mar 2023

“Bacterial suicide squad” recruits and activates innate and adaptive antitumor immune responses

Combining discoveries in cancer immunology with sophisticated genetic engineering, Columbia University researchers have created a sort of "bacterial suicide squad" that targets tumors, attracting the host's own immune cells to the cancer to destroy it. The new work, published today in Science Advances, marks a major step forward in efforts to enlist non-pathogenic bacteria to combat cancer.

9 Mar 2023

Probiotic application shown to promote health and growth of piglets

This study is led by Prof. Heping Zhang (Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University).

20 Feb 2023

Role of probiotics and functional materials in the treatment of intestinal inflammation

Maintenance of sulfomucin is a key end point in the treatment of diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the mechanism underlying the microbial sense to sulfomucin are poorly understood, and to date, there are no therapies targeting the secretion and maturation of sulfomucin in IBD. Considering the important role of gut microbiota in host immune regulation, maintain sulfomucin by modulating the gut microbiota is inspired.

20 Feb 2023

Substituting meat for mycoprotein reduces intestinal genotoxins, increases healthy gut bacteria

Researchers from Northumbria University have found that swapping red and processed meat for Quorn's mycoprotein, a fungi-based meat alternative, leads to a significant reduction in intestinal genotoxins - which can cause bowel cancer - and increases healthy gut bacteria.

17 Feb 2023

Stress hormones produced by salmon could be leading to increased infections

Fish farming is a crucial industry in Norway, and salmon is by far the most important species. So it's alarming that bacterial diseases are on the rise at the massive sea farms where salmon are raised.

7 Dec 2022

Acute infection disrupts the healthy balance between the good and bad gut microbes

Rutgers researchers examined the impact of COVID-19 on patients’ microbiomes, the group of microbes that live in and on the human body.

From Rutgers University 30 Nov 2022

Microbiome manipulation to prevent and cure diseases

Tagbo Niepa, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, is inspired by this possibility in his research. His work on using the microbiome to enhance human health was recognized with a $2 million New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health, which funds “exceptionally creative scientists proposing high-risk, high-impact research.”

From University of Pittsburgh 5 Oct 2022

Probiotics do not enhance unhealthy vaginal health, recent study shows

Several factors, such as the type of bacteria that naturally colonize the reproductive tract, can influence pregnancy chances in IVF. “Good” bacteria in the form of probiotics are gaining popularity in the treatment of vaginal microbiota imbalances in women.

5 Jul 2022

New study shows mother’s gut microbes may help in the healthy growth of the placenta

According to a recent study from the University of East Anglia, a mother’s gut microbes can aid in the formation of the placenta and the healthy development of the baby.

1 Jul 2022

Specific bacterial microbe can reduce the effects of nutritional stress on developing honey bees

Indiana University researchers have identified a specific bacterial microbe that, when fed to honey bee larvae, can reduce the effects of nutritional stress on developing bees -- one of the leading causes of honey bee decline.

29 Jun 2022

Study shows how probiotic bacteria may lower the risk of ER+ breast cancer

A new study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga., suggests that probiotic bacteria may improve the anti-cancer actions of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen as well as other endocrine-targeted therapies, potentially lowering the risk of estrogen receptive positive (ER+) breast cancer.

13 Jun 2022

Researchers develop and demonstrate new procedure for controlling directed evolution

A new procedure for controlling directed evolution in bacteria is developed and demonstrated by scientists at North Carolina State University.

16 Feb 2022

Research reveals crucial details about how microbiome species are acquired

The gut microbiome is an ecosystem of hundreds to thousands of microbial species living within the human body. These populations affect our health, fertility, and even our longevity. But how do they get there in the first place?

10 Feb 2022

New microbiome study could enable new treatments for middle ear infections

The main cause of preventable hearing loss and deafness in Indigenous communities is chronic middle ear infections.

10 Nov 2021

Nonpathogenic strain of C. acnes improves skin's resistance against infection-causing bacteria

Cutibacterium acnes, a bacteria that is known to cause acne, is also widely spread on people with healthy skin.

28 Oct 2021

Study provides insights on how the human gut microbiota resist cholera bacterium

Cholera is still an enormous problem. An acute diarrheal disease, there have been seven major pandemics in the last two hundred years. According to the WHO, cholera still kills up to 143,000 people each year and infects up to 4 million others, mostly in poor or underdeveloped countries.

4 Oct 2021

Research reveals link between high-fat diet, gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease

A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut's inner lining and its microbial communities -; and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.

From Vanderbilt University 13 Aug 2021

Study reveals the relationship between gut microbiome and neurodegenerative disorders

Eran Blacher bagged the NOSTER & Science Microbiome Prize 2021 for his work in highlighting the relationship between the microbiome and neurodegenerative diseases.

12 Jul 2021