Entries by KC

Why responders and non-responders may not be the holy grail for biotics

By Prof. Dan Merenstein MD, Georgetown University Medical Center, USA In September the New York Times published an article titled “What Obesity Drugs and Antidepressants Have in Common“. It was written by a physician who had personally struggled with weight issues and depression. In his personal journey with these health challenges, he hesitates to undergo […]

Probiotic Administration in Preterm Infants: Scientific Statement

Board of Directors, International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics in collaboration with Dr. Geoffrey Preidis MD PhD, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition Prof. Andi L Shane MD MPH MSc, Pediatric Infectious Diseases A recent report of a fatality in an extremely premature infant recipient of a probiotic product has resulted in a warning letter […]

Inaugural nominations open for ISAPP Award: The Sanders Award for Advancing Biotic Science

With this year’s retirement of ISAPP’s longtime Executive Science Officer, Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders PhD, the ISAPP board of directors sought a suitable way to honor her contributions in advancing scientific development in the fields of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. Many scientists in these fields have commended Mary Ellen’s leadership, initiative, collaboration, […]

Microbiota from a surprising source—baby kangaroos—might decrease cattle methane production

By Prof. Seppo Salminen, University of Turku, Finland One of the major contributors to greenhouse gas production is the final stage of anaerobic fermentation in the rumen (pre-stomach compartment) of cattle, which produces methane. The process is the top agricultural source of greenhouse gases worldwide. In addition, the formation of methane is associated with approximately […]

Clarifying the role of metabolites in the postbiotic definition

By Dr. Gabriel Vinderola PhD, Instituto de Lactología Industrial (CONICET-UNL), Faculty of Chemical Engineering, National University of Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina and and Prof. Colin Hill PhD, School of Microbiology and APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland ISAPP published a definition for the term postbiotics in 2021 that states that “a postbiotic is a […]

Postbiotics: debate continues and the ISAPP definition gains support

By Dr. Gabriel Vinderola PhD, Instituto de Lactología Industrial (CONICET-UNL), Santa Fe, Argentina The publication of a new definition for the term “postbiotics” by ISAPP in 2021 (Salminen et al., 2021a) spurred discussion on a variety of platforms, including scientific journals, social media and in-person debates organized at industry and scientific meetings. A couple of […]

What does “gut health” mean?

By Prof. Maria Marco PhD, University of California – Davis Probiotics and prebiotics are frequently marketed to consumers for their capacity to improve or support gut health. Dietitian nutritionists responding to a survey ranked fermented foods as the top superfood for the past six years explaining gut health as a primary reason for their choice. […]

New global guidelines for probiotics and prebiotics for gut health and disease

By Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP The use of probiotics and prebiotics in the practice of gastroenterology must be guided by evidence – and with new evidence continually emerging, clinicians can benefit from efforts to summarize this evidence and determine how it applies in clinical practice. In February 2023, the World Gastroenterology […]

Supercharging innovation: New session at ISAPP 2023 annual meeting brings industry and student members together to scientific innovation workshop in the field of biotics

Innovation in the biotics field is an important way to address some of our most important challenges in health, and ISAPP is the organization on the forefront of this innovation. This year ISAPP members are excited to debut a new workshop focused on innovation, June 26th at the 2023 ISAPP annual meeting in Denver. For […]

Popular media, misinformation and ‘biotics’

By Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP Encountering misinformation is all too easy when seeking understanding of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics (collectively, ‘biotics’). It can be perpetuated both by proponents and detractors. Through this lens, I’m prompted to comment on some high profile pieces making news recently. A Washington Post article Probiotic […]

Are the microbes in fermented foods safe? A microbiologist helps demystify live microbes in foods for consumers

By Dr. Gabriel Vinderola, PhD,  Associate Professor of Microbiology at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering from the National University of Litoral and Principal Researcher from CONICET at the Dairy Products Institute (CONICET-UNL), Santa Fe, Argentina. Since very early in my career I was drawn to science communication. I feel that rather than just producing my […]

Probiotic Use in Horses: What is the Evidence?

By Kelly S. Swanson, PhD, The Kraft Heinz Company Endowed Professor in Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Horses play a special role in many people’s lives, serving as a partner in leisure activities, therapy, various forms of work, and athletic competitions. Being large herbivores, they are adapted to a diet rich in […]

How metabolites help us to understand the effect of gut microbes on health

By Dr. Anisha Wijeyesekera, University of Reading, UK Much literature relating to the gut microbiota has focused on microbial composition (for example, using culture-dependent and -independent molecular biology approaches). Composition is important; knowing which microbes are present in a community enables us to gain insight into population dynamics and how these may be affected by […]

Food of the future: Fermented and sustainable

By Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders, ISAPP Executive Science Officer An exciting research initiative at the crossroads of fermented foods and sustainable diets is underway. Funded by the EU and Switzerland, and coordinated by KU Leuven in Belgium, HealthFerm is a 4-year, 13.1 MM € project involving 23 partners from 10 countries. Prof. Christophe Courtin, KU […]

ISAPP appoints new Executive Director to step into leadership role in April 2023

The board of directors of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) is pleased to announce the appointment of ISAPP’s next Executive Director (ED), Marla Cunningham of Brisbane, Australia. Cunningham will assume leadership of the organization April 1, 2023. ISAPP’s current ED, Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders, will stay on as Executive Science Officer […]

Scientist investigating links between diet and immune system receives 2023 ISAPP Early Career Researcher Prize

ISAPP is pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Glenn Gibson Early Career Researcher Prize: Paul Gill, PhD, Research Fellow at University College London, UK. Paul’s work investigates links between diet and the immune system – in particular, how short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) affect immunity in healthy individuals. His research found that fermented foods […]

Definition of postbiotics: A panel debate in Amsterdam

By Dr. Gabriel Vinderola, PhD,  Associate Professor of Microbiology at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering from the National University of Litoral and Principal Researcher from CONICET at the Dairy Products Institute (CONICET-UNL), Santa Fe, Argentina. A panel debate titled “Postbiotics, definition and scopes” was convened at the 9th Beneficial Microbes conference in Amsterdam on November […]

Episode 14: Evidence on probiotics for preterm infants

The Science, Microbes & Health Podcast  This podcast covers emerging topics and challenges in the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. This is the podcast of The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotic (ISAPP), a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to advancing the science of these fields. Evidence on probiotics for preterm […]

Shaping microbial exposures and the immune system in childhood: Can sandboxes be probiotic?

By Prof. Seppo Salminen, University of Turku, Finland Gut microbiota researchers have established that microbial exposures in early life can be influential on health later in life. Children who develop asthma in early childhood, for example, have an altered gut microbiota linked with exposure to less diverse microorganisms in their first year. The ‘biodiversity hypothesis’ […]

Episode 13: The history of ISAPP

The Science, Microbes & Health Podcast  This podcast covers emerging topics and challenges in the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. This is the podcast of The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotic (ISAPP), a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to advancing the science of these fields. The history of ISAPP, with […]

Episode 12: Postbiotics and probiotics in Japan: A researcher’s perspective

The Science, Microbes & Health Podcast  This podcast covers emerging topics and challenges in the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. This is the podcast of The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotic (ISAPP), a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to advancing the science of these fields. Postbiotics and probiotics in Japan: […]

Why researchers need to understand more about the small intestinal microbiome

By Prof. Eamonn M. M. Quigley, MD, The Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell School of Medicine, and Prof. Purna Kashyap, MD, Mayo Clinic The phrase “gut microbiota” properly refers to the microorganisms living throughout the entire digestive tract, including the mouth and the upper digestive tract, through the length of the small intestine as well […]