The paraprobiotic concept By Francesca Susca, DVM, PhD, Lallemand Animal Nutrition
Pet humanization – anthropomorphism – is a strong trend within the pet industry. As pets live longer and are considered as family members, more and more pet owners want to provide their pets with human-like products and experiences. This has seen many pet product retailers and manufacturers expanding their shelves and drawing inspiration from human lifestyle to provide pet owners with products that make them feel even more connected to their companion. Increasingly, consumers and brand owners are looking for natural and functional ingredients, with a clear mode of action. From this, come many demands and challenges for manufacturers such as viability through processing, shelf life and labelling claims. Among the functional foods available to consumers, probiotics are
The benefits of paraprobiotics
well recognized for their benefits on gut health, immunity, and overall
Several reviews of research studies on inactivated probiotics have
wellbeing whilst boasting a sound scientific foundation. However, today
shown beneficial responses in digestive care, immune modulation as
there is growing evidence suggesting that supplementation of certain
well as a potential role in allergy management, with their non-invasive
inactivated probiotics may also confer health benefits: these have been
nature being ideal for immunocompromised or vulnerable animals.
called paraprobiotics (Taverniti & Guglielmetti, 2011).
Digestive health potential Paraprobiotics, what are they?
The ability of paraprobiotics to adhere to different epithelial cell lines
The term ‘paraprobiotic’ was coined by Taverniti & Guglielmetti in 2011
has been proven in vitro and is dependent on the species and the
to define inactivated probiotics as ‘non-viable microbial cells (intact or
strain (Table 1). Strains capable of adhering to the surface of host
broken) or crude cell extracts (i.e. with complex chemical composition),
epithelial cells offer a competitive advantage by reducing the amount
which, when administered (orally or topically) in adequate amounts,
of attachment sites available for potential pathogens. This mechanism
confer a benefit on the human or animal consumer’.
is defined as competitive exclusion.
From probiotics to paraprobiotics
Table 1: Adhesion capacity of different paraprobiotic strains of
Microbial cell inactivation may be achieved in many different ways.
the Lactobacilli species
Live probiotic cells can be disrupted either physically or chemically, using for example heat treatment, UV light deactivation, enzymatic or mechanical disruption, pressure, lyophilisation, or acid deactivation. The optimal deactivation method is strain specific and is often heat treatment as it seems most effective and has the least damaging effect on the structure of the cells components, which in turn is linked to their effects within the host. Lallemand, a global leader in microbial strain selection, characterisation and production, has an inactivation method, tyndallization, adapted for each of its paraprobiotic strains.
Strain L. acidophilus HA-122
Colon cell line (HT29 & Caco2)
Small intestine cell line (FHs74)
++++
++++
L. casei HA-108
++
+++
L. plantarum HA-119
++
+++
Legend: ++++ Strong adhesion (X≥40M); +++ Good adhesion (10M≤X<40M); ++ Average adhesion (0,1M≤X<10M) (M=106CFU). (in vitro studies, Lallemand internal data)
Tyndallisation, a specific gentle heat treatment process, preserves the
Competitive exclusion potential of paraprobiotics is linked to
molecular membrane and cell structure of the bacteria whilst inhibiting
the composition of the cell surface proteins and glycoproteins. For
their capacity to reproduce. Such a strain specific inactivation process
example, the S layer-proteins (Slp) present in several genus and
ensures the production of microbiologically non-viable, yet functionally
species of bacteria is determinant of adhesion capacity. In humans,
active microbial cells, which are shelf stable and still able to positively
the competition for adhesion sites at gastrointestinal level has been
influence human and animal health.
described between heat-treated Lactobacilli and certain common
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Pet Food Supplement 2020
