Pre & Probiotics Futures


The final day of Probiota began with a presentation from Dr. Ruiari Robertson , Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Queen Mary University of London on Mystic Meg: Where next for Microbiome Science? From finger pricks to techno toilets, the future of effective microbiome modulation will rely on in-home self-testing and highly personalised solutions. In this session, Ruiari took us through his key predictions for the near and far future of the microbiome field.

Key learnings were:

  • Explore recent key scientific discoveries and the next questions on researchers’ lips.
  • Discover the role of the microbiome in COVID-19.
  • Predict what innovations will stand the test of time.

The second presentation of the day was by Harini Venkataraman , Analyst at Lux Research and covered Innovation opportunities in the functional ingredients space post-COVID-19 . 2020 has been a challenging year, largely attributable to COVID-19 pandemic. The key learnings were:

  • What are the newest technologies and innovations that are making waves in the industry?
  • How can industry players ensure future innovations have a strong USP for the development of functional ingredients?
  • How can the industry strike that balance between innovation and solid science?

Daniel Ramón Vidal, PhD , Vice President, R&D Health & Wellness at ADM followed and discussed postbiotics. Postbiotics is one of the most promising areas of innovation in microbiome modulators for commercial applications. ADM has actively worked on the selection, identification and production of new postbiotics for a number of years.

Key learnings were:

  • Discover the results from ADM’s BPL1 trials, a postbiotic strain demonstrating positive effects on markers associated with metabolic well-being.
  • Learn more about the results identifying the molecules responsible for ADM’s postbiotic functionality.
  • Explore data on other postbiotics in ADM’s collection that target the immune system and gut.

Probiota 2021 Digital Summit finished with a panel discussion with live Q&A chaired by Nikki Hancocks , Co-Editor at NutraIngredients on Stargazing – What does the future of pro- and prebiotics look like? With gut health opportunities spanning across cognition, fertility, immunity, skin, mood, sleep, sports nutrition and beyond, the future for the microbiome modulation industry looks healthy. The panel discussed where they see microbiome science having the biggest impact in the future and how microbiome modulating will products fit into the post-COVID era?

Panellists: