By Prof. Colin Hill PhD DSc, University College Cork, Ireland ISAPP has provided consensus definitions for a number of biotics that confer a health benefit on the host. These include prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics and postbiotics, but here I want to put forward an argument that bacteriophages (phages) could qualify as a new member of the ‘biotic’ family. Phages are bacterial viruses that infect and replicate within their bacterial victim before bursting the cell and releasing many new copies of the original virus. Phages can also integrate into the bacterial chromosome and co-exist with t ..read more

In this episode, the ISAPP hosts discuss the gut microbiome’s role in chronic diseases with Dr. Purna Kashyap MBBS, from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Dr. Kashyap talks about how to discover the complex factors that trigger and perpetuate chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, zeroing in on the gut microbiome as a contributor to different aspects of gastrointestinal (GI) tract physiology. Key topics from this episode: Dr. Kashyap became interested in some of the initial studies linking the gut microbiome to chronic diseases around 2007-2008, and subsequently began t ..read more

By Prof. Seppo Salminen PhD, University of Turku, Finland When pigs are kept as livestock, ‘manipulative behaviour’ is relatively common and it most often consists of biting, touching, or close contact with ears or tails of pen mates, without always resulting in visible wounds. Such pig behavior can cause stress and sometimes results in physical injuries. Chronic stress, nutritional deprivation, diet formulation, health problems, environmental discomfort, high stocking density and competition over resources are among the reported risk factors for tail biting in pigs. However, the precise facto ..read more

Fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and fermented pickles have traditionally been associated with health benefits in countries around the world, but the science that backs these health benefits is relatively new. Amidst a growing number of scientific studies examining the health benefits of specific fermented foods, a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement in the US marks an advance in how the potential benefits of fermented foods can be portrayed to the general public. In response to a petition by Danone North America, the FDA announced that it will allow the first Qualified ..read more

In this episode, the ISAPP hosts discuss a new study on how the gut virome affects the host during stress, with Nathaniel (Nate) Ritz from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, USA and Thomaz Bastiaanssen from APC Microbiome Ireland. The guests give an overview of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, then delve into a new study they led on the virome and its effects on stress responses in mice. Key topics from this episode: The gut and the brain communicate in various ways, and the microbiota play a role in some of these modes of communication. Various studies use animal models to look at ..read more

This episode, we discuss how to advance from probiotic mechanisms to human applications, with Prof. Graciela Lorca PhD at the University of Florida in Gainesville, USA. Prof. Lorca talks about her experiences seeking out the mechanisms of action of a probiotic – including which molecules from bacteria may have beneficial effects – and bringing a probiotic through drug trials for use in Type 1 diabetes. They also discuss probiotic responders versus nonresponders and how dietary intake may provide clues about who will respond to an intervention. Key topics from this episode: Prof. Lorca’s lab ..read more

  The Science, Microbes & Health Podcast  This podcast covers emerging topics and challenges in the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. This is the podcast of The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to advancing the science of these fields. The honeybee microbiome and potential for probiotics, with Dr. Brendan Daisley Episode summary: In this episode, the ISAPP podcast hosts cover the honey bee microbiome with Brendan Daisley, PhD, who is currently a ..read more

  The Science, Microbes & Health Podcast  This podcast covers emerging topics and challenges in the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. This is the podcast of The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to advancing the science of these fields. A primer on prebiotics, with Dr. Karen Scott Episode summary: In this episode, the ISAPP podcast hosts talk about prebiotics with Karen Scott, PhD, who is an ISAPP board member and Senior Research Fellow at Rowett ..read more

ISAPP is pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Glenn Gibson Early Career Researcher Prize: Paul Gill, PhD, Research Fellow at University College London, UK. Paul’s work investigates links between diet and the immune system – in particular, how short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) affect immunity in healthy individuals. His research found that fermented foods such as vinegar and kombucha are a rich source of SCFAs, and these may modulate immunity when consumed along with fermentable fibers. He plans to investigate the application of these findings in dietary treatment for inflammatory bowel dis ..read more

Kristina Campbell, MSc, and Prof. Dan Tancredi, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, UC Davis School of Medicine and Center for Healthcare Policy and Research Twenty years ago, in 2002, the first ISAPP meeting was held in London, Canada. At the time, the field was much less developed: only small human trials on probiotics or prebiotics had been published, no Nutrition and Health Claims legislation existed in the EU, and the human microbiome project hadn’t been conceived. Now in ISAPP’s 20th year, the scientific landscape of probiotics and prebiotics is vastly different. For one thing, probiotics and ..read more