Stephen O’Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, commented: “There is growing scientific evidence that indicates there is a relationship between the gastrointestinal microbiota, neurobiochemistry and emotional behaviour in humans. Recent findings have suggested that prebiotics, for example, can improve psychological or biological measures of depression, anxiety or stress.”
The project will also be funded by Italy-based research institute Fondazione Edmund Mach—Centro Ricerca e Innovazione (FEM) and the University of Southampton. It will examine how prebiotics such as SlimBiome and WellBiome and probiotics like LPLDLcan help the human body manage sleep, stress, and anxiety during a period of stress-induced sleep disruption.
The research will be carried out by a Ph.D. student in the School of Human Development and Health (HDH), in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton. The project will include a double-blind, placebo-controlled human study.
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“The research carried out by the University of Southampton and FEM is a fundamental step for OptiBiotix as we move into 2021 and pursue next generation products,” O’Hara added. “Backed by our better science, better health ethos, this project will provide our global partners with the potential to drive new products in the health and wellbeing sector, opening up new commercial opportunities for SlimBiome, WellBiome and our probiotic, LPLDL.”The Nutrition and Nutrigenomics Unit at FEM is currently on a mission to measure how microbiome systems along the food chain can be harnessed to improve food nutritional quality, sustainability, and human health, the press release states. The HDH is currently investigating the effects of microbiome modulators on the biomolecular system and their implications for health and disease.
