Knowde Enhanced TDS
Identification & Functionality
- Ingredient Name
- Food Ingredients Functions
- Pharma & Nutraceuticals Functions
- Ingredients
- Bifidobacterium Lactis, Bifidobacterium Bifidum
Features & Benefits
- Food Ingredients Features
- Product Background
In Western societies, the prevalence of allergies is rising and is expected to grow even further (see figure 1). The World Allergy Organization (WAO) reports that nowadays allergy affects more than 20% of the populations of most developed countries.
Figure 1: The past decades have shown an enormous increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases in Western societies.
The major allergic diseases; eczema, asthma, hay fever and food allergy, affect not only quality of life, but also have an impact on the socio-economic welfare of society. This requires a preventive strategy to overcome these effects. An important role for the increase of allergies over de past decades is, according to the hygiene hypothesis, a decreased exposure to microbes early in life.2 This hypothesis suggests that establishing a healthy intestinal microbiota early in life contributes to proper intestinal development and maturation of the immune system.3 This relatively low or inappropriate microbial exposure could be a problem for the child’s developing immune system and as such be responsible for the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases. Research has shown that the intestines of babies suffering from eczema shows a less diverse microbiota composition compared to the intestines of healthy babies.4 Specifically selected probiotic strains could be a potential and safe approach to modulate immune responses and thereby preventing development of allergy/eczema.5 The WAO also recommends probiotics to pregnant women and children at high risk for allergies.6
- Strain Selection
Ecologic® PANDA is a multispecies probiotic formulation consisting of 4 specially selected probiotic strains. Probiotic strains can exert health effects at different levels in the gut (see figure 2). The probiotic strains of Ecologic® PANDA have been selected for their capacity to strengthen the intestinal barrier function (level 2), and influence the immune system7,8 (level 3). The strains have been screened for their capacity to:
- improve the intestinal barrier function
- modulate the production of immunosuppressive cytokines.
Applications & Uses
- Markets
- Applications
- Food & Nutrition Applications
Properties
Regulatory & Compliance
- Certifications & Compliance
Technical Details & Test Data
- Clinically Evidence
Ecologic® PANDA has been tested in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial including 102 pregnant women who were at high risk of getting an allergic baby due to a positive family history (the PandA study). Subjects received either Ecologic® PANDA or a placebo, which was administered prenatally (in the diet during pregnancy 6-8 weeks prior to delivery) and postnatally (during the first 12 months of life to the child). The results showed a significant reduction of eczema after 3 months in the babies receiving Ecologic® PANDA. This effect was sustained until two years after birth9 (figure 3). Results substantiated previous research outcomes by showing that babies who did not develop eczema had a higher microbial diversity. All phases of the research that led to this formulation have been published in a PhD thesis.10 The children in the PandA trial were followed till the age of 6 years. No long-term effects were found,11 which is in line with similar other studies. The researchers did find higher quantities of Ecologic® PANDA strains in microbiota samples during the intervention period, indicating good GI-survival of the bacterial strains.12 Also, a possible mechanism for the explanation of the positive outcomes of the PandA trial was found. Higher concentrations of SCFAs were found in fecal samples of the children who received Ecologic® PANDA compared to the placebo group13 (figure 4). The findings are in line with other studies that have shown the potential role of SCFAs in eczema.14,15 In an observational trial it has been found that Ecologic® PANDA also benefits children after birth by reducing colic.16
Figure 3: Ecologic® PANDA shows a significant reduction of eczema development. * Significant effect, p<0.05.
Figure 4: Fecal concentrations SCFAs by 3 months of age.