Prebiotics have generally been viewed as energy sources for the various microrganisms that inhabit the human gut microbiome, with this energy derived from select dietary fibre sources. However, recently among food and supplement formulators there has been a re-evaluation of the materials that constitutes a prebiotic and a desire to widen the definition.
The latest definition of prebiotics was developed by a range of specialists under the auspices of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), in 2016. This updated definition is: “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit”. This widens the scope of the type of compounds that can now be considered to exhibit prebiotic activity. Fundamental to this new definition is that the material must “confer a beneficial physiological effect on the host by the selective utilization of a compound by gut bacteria”
In the light of this new definition, Marigot, from recent published research on Aquamin and working as a key member of the Global Prebiotic Association (GPA) have concluded that Aquamin could be considered as exhibiting prebiotic-type characteristics & may provide powerful synergies when formulating products for gut health.
Aquamin is available in food & listable formats for a wide range of applications and offers the following prebiotic-type features in comparison with commonly formulated prebiotic fibres:
| PREBIOTIC Feature |
Inulin |
scFOS |
GOS |
AQUAMIN |
| Fiber Source |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✗ |
| Benefits Bacterial Energy |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✗ |
| Anti-Inflammatory Properties |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Positive for SCFA production |
✗ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Dairy Free |
✓ |
✓ |
✗ |
✓ |
| Boost Immune Function |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Delivers Bifidogenic Effect |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Negative Gastro Issues |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Low Dose Effective |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
✓ |
| Barrier Enhancement |
✗ |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
| Optimal Mineral Bioavailability |
✗ |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
| Probiotic carrier functionality |
✗ |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
| Gastric protection for probiotics |
✗ |
✗ |
✗ |
✓ |
The Science to date on Aquamin, which outlines the basis behind the features above is available on the latest publication overview and can be downloaded below: