Probiota Insights: What have the last five years taught us about probiotics?

The recent Probiota event in Berlin​ brought together leading experts in research and business to discuss the state of play in probiotics, prebiotics and microbiome modification.

NutraIngredients asked for expert insights on a range of topics. Here we questioned what the last five years has taught us about probiotics.

“It’s like comparing the dial up telephone to my smartphone. We’ve come that far in five years with the knowledge and understanding (…) and we’re really at the leading edge, we’re really still at the start,” ​said Peter Lagan, a consultant who works on product development in New Zealand.  

Indeed, Isabelle Champie from Lallemand noted that modern research has revealed that the microbiome has an impact on the whole body, while Susanna Baekgaard of Bifodan told us that new computer technologies will help the industry understand the emerging connections between the microbiome and the skin, the mouth, and women’s health.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Krive from Asia Microbiota Bank said the advent of next generation metagenomic sequencing, researchers and the industry can begin to look beyond correlations, and even cause and effect relationships – and start to explore mechanisms of action.