GanedenBC30 consumption for 28 days prior to exposure to prebiotics was associated with higher levels of select bacterial populations, as well as significantly increased levels of the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) butyrate, acetate and propionate, according to findings published in Anaerobe.
“This study is exciting, as it lays the groundwork for continuing our research into the combined benefits of GanedenBC30 and prebiotics,” said David Keller, VP of Scientific Operations at Ganeden Biotech and co-author of the new paper. “We are well aware of both the benefits of GanedenBC30 and the benefits of prebiotics separately; but now we have data showing increased digestive benefits of consuming them together”.
The study adds to a growing portfolio of technical data supporting the purported benefits of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 (GanedenBC30), and represents the 19th peer-reviewed published study for the ingredient, said the company.
The ingredient
According the FAO/WHO, probiotics are defined as "live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host". Prebiotics are defined as "non-digestible substances that provide a beneficial physiological effect on the host by selectively stimulating the favorable growth or activity of a limited number of indigenous bacteria". Synbiotics are a combination of the two.
GanedenBC30 has advantages over some other probiotic strains owing to its ability to withstand extremes of temperature and harsh processing techniques.
GanedenBC30 is a spore-forming bacterium, which means that inside the bacterial cell is a hardened structure, or spore, a bit like a seed. This safeguards the cell’s genetic material from the heat and pressure of manufacturing processes, stomach acid and bile.
Study details
The study was conducted by Dr Glenn Gibson, professor at the University of Reading, England in collaboration with scientists from Ganeden and Schiff, and the scientists assessed the effects of GanedenBC30 on prebiotics in elderly persons.
Healthy elderly volunteers received GanedenBC30 supplements (10 million colony forming units per day) or placebo for 28 days, and then fecal samples taken from six volunteers for testing in single stage batch culture anaerobic fermenters. The fecal samples were tested against two commercial prebiotics: Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) by BiMuno product from Clasado and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) – the Orafti P95 from Beneo Orafti.
Results showed that populations of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Clostridium lituseburense and Bacillus spp. were significantly increased following GanedenBC30 consumption, compared with placebo. Exposing the feces of both GanedenBC30 and placebo groups to the prebiotics resulted in increased populations of several purportedly beneficial bacterial groups, but greater increases were observed in C. lituseburense, Eubacterium rectale and F. prausnitzii in the BC30 group.
Prebiotics after GanedenBC30 ingestion also led to significantly higher concentrations of butyrate, acetate and propionate, wrote the researchers.
“Using in vitro fecal batch culture fermenters as a model for the microbiota we have demonstrated that samples which possessed an increased population of Bacillus spp. at baseline had a markedly elevated response to prebiotic supplementation than those which did not,” they wrote.
“Host consumption of BC30 and subsequent exposure of their fecal microbiota to prebiotics resulted in elevated populations of other beneficial genera of bacteria which significantly increased production of many beneficial organic acids.”
Source: Anaerobe
December 2014, Volume 30, Pages 75-81, doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2014.09.002
“Effect of prebiotics on the fecal microbiota of elderly volunteers after dietary supplementation of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086”
Authors: E.P. Nyangale, S. Farmer, D. Keller, D. Chernoff, G.R. Gibson