Probiotic from Penang: Malaysian cow’s milk bacteria strain exerts benefits for brain, URT, and liver

Related tags: Probiotics, Gut health, Brain health The probiotic strain, L. plantarum DR7 ​, was discovered during a collaboration between Clinical Nutrition Sdn Bhd and University Sains Malaysia in 2014. A number of human studies to examine its effect on the brain, upper respiratory tract infection, and gut began last year. Just in September this year, Spanish firm AB Biotics acquired the exclusive global licensing of the strain. At the Probiota Asia summit organised by NutraIngredients-Asia, ​Min-Tze Liong, professor at the school of industrial technology at University Sains Malaysia, spoke in detail about the findings and the biochemistry mechanisms involved. Enhancing the serotonin pathway ​ DR7 was found to reduce stress and anxiety by enhancing the serotonin pathway. The strain was administered for 12 weeks in a double blind, placebo-controlled, and randomised human clinical trial involving 111 subjects with moderate stress. The treatment group had to consume 10 9 ​ CFU of DR7 probiotics per day. Similar to previous animal model studies conducted, the strain was able to increase the level of serotonin, commonly referred as the “happy chemical”. ​ The strain worked by increasing the expression of TPH, the enzyme responsible for converting tryptophan into serotonin, while reducing the expression of the enzyme IDO, which converts tryptophan into kynurenine. Kynurenine has been shown to increase in numbers in the blood levels of gene expression in adults who are stressed and depressed. In addition, the team also saw a slight prevention of conversion in dopamine in the human study, an observation which was not seen in the animal model. “We thus believe that DR7 may also have an effect along the dopamine pathway, we will need further concrete evidence on that. But for serotonin, the effect was quite clear,” ​ Liong said. Effects on neurodegeneration ​ Another human clinical […]

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