Entries by Kristina Campbell

ISAPP discussion group leads to new review paper providing a global perspective on the science of fermented foods and beverages

January 10, 2020 in , , /by

By Kristina Campbell, MSc, Science & Medical Writer Despite the huge variety of fermented foods that have originated in countries all over the world, there are relatively few published studies describing the microbiological similarities and differences between these very diverse foods and beverages. But in recent years, thanks to the availability of high throughput sequencing […]

Highlighting the importance of lactic acid bacteria: An interview with Prof. Seppo Salminen

December 3, 2019 in , /by

By Kristina Campbell, M.Sc., science & medical writer   In a 2009 book called What on Earth Evolved?, British author Christopher Lloyd takes on the task of ranking the top 100 species that have influenced the planet throughout its evolutionary history. What comes in at number 5, just slightly more influential than Homo sapiens? Lactobacilli, […]

Misleading press about probiotics: ISAPP responses

November 25, 2019 in /by

By Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP It seems over the last couple of years, open season on “probiotics” has been declared. Responding in a scientifically accurate fashion to misleading coverage, whether it is in reputable scientific journals or in the lay media, takes time and care. I want to be clear: well-conducted […]

ISAPP helps inform UK Parliament

November 18, 2019 in /by

By Prof. Glenn Gibson, University of Reading, UK An All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) was inaugurated in February 2019 in the UK. Its purpose is: “to highlight the role of the gut microbiome in physical and mental health and its capacity to prevent many disorders and improve or slow others; to inform debate about how […]

Harmonized Probiotic Guidelines to be discussed at Codex Alimentarius meeting November 24 – 29

November 15, 2019 in , /by

By Mary Ellen Sanders PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP In 2017, the International Probiotics Association (IPA) proposed that Codex Alimentarius consider the topic of global harmonization of probiotics, and Argentina offered to propose an approach. The final proposal developed by Argentina is here. This set into motion activities among many stakeholders that led to a final […]

Lactobacillus bacteremia in critically ill patients does not raise questions about safety for general consumers

November 12, 2019 in /by

By Dan Merenstein MD, Professor of Family Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC, USA; Eamonn Quigley MD, Professor of Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas USA; Gregory Gloor PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, Canada; Hania Szajewska MD, Professor of Paediatrics, […]

Reflections on a career in probiotic science, from ISAPP founding board member Prof. Gregor Reid

November 4, 2019 in , , /by

Past President and founding board member Prof. Gregor Reid is stepping down from the ISAPP Board in Banff in June 2020, as he retires from Western University and his Endowed Chair position at Lawson Health Research Institute the following month. In this blog post, he shares thoughts on his career and the opportunities for his […]

Those probiotics may actually be helping, not hurting

October 30, 2019 in , /by

By Mary Ellen Sanders PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP, and Gregory B. Gloor PhD, Department of Biochemistry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London   A recent Wall Street Journal essay posits that probiotics are harmful, but does so by misrepresenting probiotic and microbiome science in some important ways. The […]

Researchers submit recommendations for revised Lactobacillus taxonomy

October 21, 2019 in , /by

By Mary Ellen Sanders PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP A team of researchers has submitted their recommendations for new classification for the heterogeneous group of species currently considered to belong to the genus Lactobacillus. The paper is under review by the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, the premier journal for bacterial taxonomy. Three research […]

The small intestinal ‘mysteriome’: A potentially important but uncharted microbiome

September 17, 2019 in , /by

By Eamonn MM Quigley MD FRCP FACP MACG FRCPI, Lynda K and David M Underwood, Center for Digestive Disorders, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA   Over recent years, countless publications have documented the status of the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract by examining fecal samples. While this approach does […]

Is probiotic colonization essential?

August 20, 2019 in , /by

By Prof. Maria Marco, PhD, Department of Food Science & Technology, University of California, Davis It is increasingly appreciated by consumers, physicians, and researchers alike that the human digestive tract is colonized by trillions of bacteria and many of those bacterial colonists have important roles in promoting human health. Because of this association between the […]