Clinical Study: Nouri Advances Probiotic Survival With Lonza's DuoCap & Ahiflower

ATLANTA, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- People all over the world are under a raft of added stresses linked to climate, COVID, and crashing economies. The recently published 2020 Social Progress Index notes an alarming and widening discrepancy impacting all Americans, especially people who are under-employed or no longer working. While America claims leadership in medical technology globally, the US has dropped to #97 in access to quality health care. Lack of access and rising health care costs coupled with gut health category sales rising to $59 billion reflects that many of us internalize daily stresses in our gut and GI tracts, not just in our attitudes and mental outlook. Yet clearly the two are linked. That is in part what inspired founder Caroline Beckman, a former executive with Suja Juice, to launch her latest company, Nouri.

The gut-brain axis is now under intensive study — where linkages between digestive wellness and mental health and performance are showing just how important our diet is to maintaining a sharp mind and a healthier mindset. But as with so many dietary approaches to overall wellness, making a nutrient bioavailable means so much more than simply eating it. With probiotics, beneficial digestive bacteria that are pivotal to healthy digestion, getting them into the small intestine alive and intact is a recognized challenge. Much of the probiotics we consume are broken down in gastric acids before they get into the small intestine where they are most helpful in modulating immune and metabolic wellness — keystones to longevity and vitality.

Nouri is the first US company to combine a plant-based omega-369 rich oil with customized probiotic strains for optimal gut-brain axis health. And rather than accepting poor probiotic bioavailability as the norm, Nouri got smarter. Caroline Beckman and her product development team asked how could they optimize delivery and uptake of clinically-backed probiotic strains, while adding wellness value via its carrier ingredients. Nouri landed on the most complete and balanced plant-based omega oil (Ahiflower®) because of published research showing potential synergies in gut microbiome potentiation between omega fatty acids and probiotics. Then Nouri found the ideal delivery system solution in the DuoCap® (capsule within a capsule) by Lonza. They reasoned that they could optimize small intestine delivery of Nouri's proprietary probiotic blend by setting it in a 'tiny sea' of Ahiflower oil.

Nouri then took a key step. They engaged a globally leading probiotics research team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, to rigorously test their hypothesis. Under leadership of Dr. Koen Venema, they used a standardized and validated 'mechanical gut' (TIM-1) to simulate the adult human digestive tract. They hypothesized and tested whether complexing the Nouri Health probiotics alone in powder, in powder with Ahiflower, alone in capsules, or with Ahiflower oil in the DuoCap® by Lonza system would result in changes in probiotic survival at the end of the simulated gastric system.

In results published in April 2020 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Beneficial Microbes (vol 11(4): 403-409), the researchers found that in the DuoCap® by Lonza delivery system with Ahiflower oil, probiotic bioavailability increased nearly 2-fold compared to probiotic strains alone in capsules or in powders. The authors concluded that, "In these experiments, Ahiflower oil did have an additional benefit… In conclusion, the developed capsule-in-capsule technology increased the amount of viable cells in the upper gastrointestinal tract, mainly due to the presence of the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the outer capsule, which particularly protected the blend of probiotics in the small intestine." The authors further observed that this 2-fold difference, while modest, could make the difference in many people between an efficacious and a non-efficacious intake, given the well-studied fact of probiotic breakdown in the gut's gastric acids.

Greg Cumberford, VP Science & Regulatory with Natures Crops International, makers of Ahiflower oil, stated, "We are of course pleased by Caroline and Nouri's commitment to scientific assessment of Lonza's novel DuoCap delivery system. It makes intuitive sense that combining a plant-based omega oil and key probiotics might perform this way. And indeed these finding make the research team's discovery — one that validates Nouri's original formulation insight and Lonza's DuoCap® system alike — quite significant."

For more information, please go to: https://dailynouri.com

About Nouri
Caroline Beckman created Nouri to deliver gut health solutions that empower individuals to take a proactive approach to their health. With a dedication to science and transparency, Nouri continues to develop solutions that advance consumer health, starting within the gut and radiating outwards. Nouri is the first in the world to deliver proactive immune support and a two-in-one capsule containing probiotics and plant-based omega oil. To read more about the company and products please email hello@dailynouri.com and visit https://dailynouri.com

About Natures Crops International
A manufacturer of specialty oils for dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, food, and personal care products, Natures Crops produces oils from the highest quality crops, produced by growers who follow strict management protocols for sustainability and identity preservation. Natures Crops ensures the crops produced are grown, processed, packaged, and delivered in a safe, sustainable, traceable, and cost-competitive manner. The company has operations in Prince Edward Island, Canada and the United Kingdom, with headquarters in North Carolina. Natures Crops is a member of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. For more information please write to info@naturescrops.com.

Footnotes:
https://www.socialprogress.org/?code=USA

SOURCE Natures Crops International