TESTING
Developing efficient probiotics in ageing
David Weinkove – Magnitude Biosciences
With ageing a growing concern for many populations around the world, researchers in the personal care industry are constantly trying to understand how to solve age-related skin problems including wrinkles, pigmentation, and dryness. The gut-skin axis has been identified as an important bidirectional relationship between the gut microbiome and skin health, with recent studies suggesting that the gut microbiome can influence skin health. The dysregulation of the microbiome has been seen in numerous inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, rosacea, and psoriasis.1
Understanding how the gut
microbiome is involved in regulating skin health may lead to development of treatments for these skin disorders through microbiome adjustment. Improving skin health through probiotics is
becoming a popular concept and by regulating skin health and gut–skin axis interactions, probiotics have the potential to be used as tools to suppress and improve skin diseases in multiple ways.
Benefits of probiotics Maintaining general health is a key challenge for an ageing population, therefore, understanding whether probiotics can help as we get older is vital. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics defines probiotics as “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”.2 Probiotics have been shown in clinical
trials to have positive effects on various health outputs including digestive health,3 weight management5
and dental health.6 Probiotics are measured in colony forming
units (CFU) which represents the number of alive and active microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses etc) in one serving of a probiotic dietary supplement. CFU is the mark that many consumers use as a guide to purchase probiotics, with many probiotic supplements containing 1 to 10 billion CFU per dose and some containing up to 50 billion CFU. However, higher CFU counts do not
necessarily improve the product’s health effects. Taking more probiotics or products with a higher CFU might mean that there is a larger amount in the gastrointestinal tract but proving that there is a better positive health response with higher CFU is challenging. While the emphasis on CFU in probiotic
www.personalcaremagazine.com skin health,4
products is evident, it also highlights a broader issue: the general lack of consumer awareness regarding the distinctions between different bacterial strains. Despite the varied impacts of these strains, as demonstrated in clinical trials, the understanding of their biology and the mechanisms of interactions with the host is lacking. Many clinical studies are performed to
determine the success of probiotics. While these studies are necessary to show that a strain provides a beneficial effect, they do not develop an understanding of why the bacterial strain works.
Testing probiotic formulas and ethical testing alternatives Due to an increasing number of skin-related health problems and diseases being linked to ageing, methods to identify probiotics that can help in such cases are urgently required. Manufacturers of probiotics and postbiotics are investing heavily in novel methods that allow for efficient, high-throughput and identification of formulations that can help human and animal health. Preclinical evaluation of probiotic strains
adheres to a stringent three-step process; the first of which involves in-depth characterisation of the bacterial strain. This includes both phenotypic and genotypic methods to ensure accurate classification and distinguish it from potentially harmful bacteria. Then the comprehensive safety assessment takes place which considers the strain's history of safe use,
its antibiotic resistance profile, and potential for causing harm through in vitro and in vivo models. Finally, efficacy testing investigates the strain's functional characteristics and potential health benefits using in vitro assays and animal models relevant to the proposed health claim. However, the European Union (EU)
implemented a ban on testing cosmetics on animals and on selling cosmetics tested on animals in 2009,7
this has meant that
the personal care industry has had to find alternatives to test that products are safe and effective. In vitro assays are typically used to screen
potential bacterial strains and to establish basic biological mechanism. They are designed with components of cells that have been isolated to monitor biochemical and functional reactions to determine the impact of probiotics. An in vitro model of the human gut helps
compensate for the limitations of animal models in studying the human gut–microbiome interaction and are crucial in the clarification of the mechanism of microbial action or in the high-throughput screening and functional evaluation of probiotics.8
While useful as a
precursor to predict the viability of a probiotic, the isolated assay cannot evaluate the safety of the product on other organs, for example skin, over the long term. Utilising Caenorhabditis elegans (C.
elegans), a small nematode worm, which can be cultured in conjunction with specific bacterial strains, offers insights into specific age-related outcomes of exposure to probiotics
November 2024 PERSONAL CARE
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