We are proud of our many biotic research achievements in preventing and addressing GI problems throughout life. Our biotic innovations have led the way in providing gut comfort as well as supporting the gut through illness, in all stages of life.
Our pioneering research has transformed our understanding of the role that biotics play in providing specific health benefits when consumed.
Probiotics
Our discovery of specific probiotics, beneficial strains of bacteria that promote health, and development of prebiotic, synbiotic and postbiotic innovations ensure we can provide nutritional solutions to sustain healthy development and wellbeing.
Danone has been producing fermented foods containing probiotics for nearly 100 years and during this time, we have collected and preserved 4,000 strains of bacteria. In 2019 we opened our collection of 1,800 exclusive strains for research purposes, with the aim of sharing our legacy for the benefit of all. The ground-breaking discovery of probiotics, combined with our fermentation process, have enabled us to deliver the most efficacious, well-tolerated probiotic on the biggest scale around the world.
Probiotic strains in each product are carefully selected by our microbiologists, based on the desired taste, texture and health benefits to provide probiotic-rich dairy and plant-based foods, that help improve gut health. Because probiotics only pass through the gut temporarily, they must be eaten regularly to replenish the amount of good intestinal bacteria and thus express their benefit. It is through fermented food that probiotics can best be consumed in a natural and enjoyable way. While not all fermented foods contain probiotics, probiotic yogurt is an excellent example of a fermented food that does.
Danone’s probiotic yoghurt strains contain five different probiotics, including the exclusive strain Bifidus Actiregularis, which can survive the journey through the GI tract, thereby adding to an individual’s microbiota. This has been shown to significantly improve outcomes related to gastrointestinal discomfort in healthy adults.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates, primarily oligosaccharides, that pass through the small intestine and stimulate growth of beneficial microorganisms, such as bifidobacteria, in the lower intestine. Human milk contains many specific oligosaccharides (HMOS) of which more than 200 have been identified. In 1998 we patented our unique mixture of prebiotic oligosaccharides scGOS/lcFOS (9:1). This mixture of over 100 oligosaccharides contains short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides in a 9:1 ratio – a composition that closely mimics the complexity, diversity, amount, and functionality of HMOS in human milk and has shown its clinical benefits, including reducing the risk of allergies and infections.
Synbiotics
Synbiotics are a combination of pre and probiotics that work synergistically. We have developed a specific synbiotic combination, by combining the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve M-16V with our prebiotic mixture scGOS/lcFOS (9:1). Bifidobacterium breve is commonly found in the gut of healthy breastfed infants and in human milk. Studies have shown it is the most promising strain in reducing allergic symptoms due to its anti-allergic properties.1van der Aa L.B, et al. Clin Exp Allergy. Published on 2010. 40(5): p. 795-804 , 2van der Aa L.B et al.. Allergy. Published on 2011. 66(2): p. 170-7 Our synbiotics mixture acts synergistically, not only to resolve allergy symptoms in infants, but also to restore the composition of the gut microbiota to reflect that of healthy breastfed infants.
Postbiotics
The more recent pioneering postbiotic, derived from the LactofidusTM fermentation process, has shown promising benefits for balancing gut microbiota as well as stool softening and reducing colic.3Huet F, Abrahamse-Berkeveld M Tims S, Simeoni U,Beley G, et al. Partly fermented infant formulae with specific oligosaccharides support adequate infant growth and are well-tolerated. J. … Continue reading We continue to innovate in this space discovering new combinations and strains to treat microbiome imbalance and boost immunity.
View References
| 1 | van der Aa L.B, et al. Clin Exp Allergy. Published on 2010. 40(5): p. 795-804 |
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| 2 | van der Aa L.B et al.. Allergy. Published on 2011. 66(2): p. 170-7 |
| 3 | Huet F, Abrahamse-Berkeveld M Tims S, Simeoni U,Beley G, et al. Partly fermented infant formulae with specific oligosaccharides support adequate infant growth and are well-tolerated. J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol, Nutr. Published on 2016;63(4):p e43-e53 |
